Drunken Bender
by Tenebrosus
Summary: What if Aang and company picked up a new friend in the desert before Ba Sing Se? Follow the adventures of Aang and Beat both of which are more similar than they appear. rating changed to M due to language and increased violence in upcoming chapters
1. Let the Beat drop

_Heya this is my absolute first time writing anything that i let someone else see outside of a classroom so be gentle with me. I don't care if you flame but be constructive in them don't just bash me and not leave a reason I will delete those ones bar none. The title itself may or may not change depending on if i can thing of something better other than that lets got onto the disclaimer and a few notes._

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender the only thing i lay claim to is my OC Beat.**

Talking_/_Yelling_  
Inner Monologue_  
**Avatar State/Aang's Past Lives**

**Drunken Bender**

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It had been a long day for Aang and his companions, Sokka and Katara were already asleep while Toph was gazing over the city of Ba Sing Se…or at least Aang thought she was…he wasn't quite sure what Toph was looking at half the time seeing as she couldn't see like he did. With a soft yawn Aang's thoughts turned back to Appa and their latest failure in finding him. Aang shook his head sadly before turning to look at the most recent member of their group. He had shoulder length white hair that was currently splayed out around his head like a halo and his clothes, though new, were tattered and torn consisting of a tight black shirt and a dusky red coat with brown pants that cinched closed at the ankle and slipper like shoes. Katara tried to get him to dress a bit better but he insisted it threw enemies off guard when they fought him. His name was Beat…strange even to the motley group of kids. But name aside the strangest thing about him was that he didn't even belong here. Not in the traditional sense of course but in the literal…Beat came from a different world, one where Bending and chi simply didn't exist like they did here. In his world technology was dominant. He told them that where he came from you couldn't manipulate fire or air or anything like they did. In fact there were almost wholly reliant on machines for everyday life. In fact most people had become fat and lazy and his race was slowly dooming themselves to a self-destructive sedentary life style. Aang shook his head and laid down as he mulled over how Beat came to join their group…in fact it had been 3 weeks ago tomorrow…  
**

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FLASHBACK-3 Weeks prior**

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"So that's the plan then guys," Sokka said as he wrapped up the scroll and stowed it away in his pouch. "We head to Ba Sing Se and show our plan to the Earth King and have him help us invade the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun!"

"I don't know Sokka do you really think the Earth King is just going to let us waltz into the palace and strike up a conversation with him?," Katara asked.

"Sugar Queen's got a point Sokka, people in High Society don't usually let people of the lower class just stroll on in any time they want," Toph stated as she picked at her toes before blowing her bangs out of her eyes.

"Well what do you suggest then Toph?" Aang asked as he threw in his two cents.

"Well I don't know" Toph grunted " All I know is that its not gonna be as simply as strolling into the palace"

"Who cares until we come up with a better plan this is what we have to go with" Sokka grumbled "Besides it will take us a couple weeks to get to Ba Sing Se since Appa is gone now"

Katara reached over and whapped Sokka on the arm as she frowned at him a faint catty hissing sound slipping from her mouth. "Jeez Sokka be a bit more sensitive to Aangs feelings!"

"I'm sorry but we all know its true besides you remember what that sand bender said chances are if we head to Ba Sing Se we can pick up Appa's trail too" Sokka murmured as he rubbed his head and glances at Aang who was staring off into the distance.

" Sokka's right our best chance to find Appa is in Ba Sing Se" Aang whispered as he stood up and patted the sand off his legs and butt.

"Twinkle Toes is right and the sooner we get started the sooner we can find Ap-OOF!!!" Toph was abruptly cut off as a man slammed down on top of her kicking up dust and sand in a huge gout of debris setting all the companions on edge as they approached the crater in the sand calling out for Toph while each armed themselves in case whatever hit Toph turned out to be hostile. Sokka had his War club out and was edging closer as Aang and Katara started to bend Air and Water respectively keeping the elements on standby as the dust started to settle revealing a person of about 14 or 15 years old sprawled on top of Toph. While this was interesting in and of itself seeing as the man had seemingly appeared out of thin air what really had the groups attention was that his lips were firmly pressed against Toph's and the normally unflappable Earth bender was beet red yet she seem too frozen in shock to move as of yet. Slowly the man stirred and opened his eyes staring right into Toph's before his mind slowly started to process what was happening and he leapt back rolling on the sand before using his hands to spring to his feet his face flushed before he stumbled and fell on his ass with a groan.

"Oh holy crap what hit me," He moaned as he sat up slowly and clutched his head before Sokka poked him in the back of the head with his club.

"Hey who are you," Sokka demanded as he slipped into a defensive posture while Aang and Katara helped Toph to her feet her face still glowing before she stomped over to the prone man and grabbing for him but he seemed to simply sway out of the way no matter how many times Toph made to grab him. What was even more interesting was that he didn't even seem to be doing it on purpose as he had his face buried in his hands still before Toph screeched and tackled him and started to choke him.

"YOU….YOU…YOU!!!!" Toph shrieked in a rare display of rage while the man was steadily turning blue and making choking noises before the three managed to pry her off much to her protests "NO LET ME KILL HIM HE TOOK MY FIRST KISS!!!" Toph flushed again before lapsing into a tense silence as she simmered.

"Sunnuva" the man grumbled as he sat up and rubbed his neck and rolled it a series of pops echoing out making Katara wince before he looked over them his slate grey eyes calculating.

"Who are you?" Sokka asked again as he lowered his weapon the mans lack of retaliation against Toph's outburst speaking volumes for his character.

The man grunted and stood up the muscles on his chest and stomach rippling slightly from the motion causing Katara to blush and look away a bit as the man wasn't wearing much in the way of clothes just a tattered pair of pants and what might have once been a shirt though the small bits of fabric no longer gave any shelter from the elements.

"Names Beat what's up?" The newly christened Beat said as he stretched and bent, his bones popping and cracking as things fell back into place from his rough landing before he locked eyes on Toph and flushed again." Can anyone tell me where I am?"

"Your in the Earth Kingdom just outside of the desert" Aang answered as he let the air he'd been bending dissipate and Katara slipped the water back into the bottle. "Excuse me for stating the obvious but your not from around here are you Mr. um Beat was it?" Katara questioned.

"Beat it was and 'Mr.' I am not judging from the looks of you I'm about as old as you are girlie"

"O-Oh I see I'm sorry I just assumed from your looks and height that," Katara trailed off as she coughed and turned away mumbling about checking on Toph.

"So where are you from then Beat" Sokka asked "You don't look like Fire Nation"

"I'm from East L.A. and judging from what you just said I'm nowhere close to that anymore" Beat mused as he looked around before walking to Toph who sensed him coming and glared up at him.

"What do you want you pervert?!" Toph growled her hackles raised as she suppressed the urge to grind him into a pasty smear on the desert sands.

"I wanted to apologize I seem to have caused you some grief," Beat smiled though Toph couldn't see that, "Though I must say if I had to kiss anyone I was glad it was someone as cute as you"  
Toph sputtered and looked away her cheeks tinged pink and smiled softly despite herself. Since she was sheltered most her life and blind Toph didn't often get compliments on her looks. Looking back towards the group who had observed the interaction between the two he smiled again.

"I suppose you'll be wanting an explanation as to how I appeared out of thin air huh?" The four companions nodded as Beat sighed. "Well unfortunately I have none for you…despite a bright flash of light the feeling of being weightless and the sudden lip lock with cutie here I have no recollection of anything" Toph flushed again and grumbled something about perverts.

"Well…I suppose we'll just have to take his word for it for now guys" Sokka murmured as he eyed the snowy-haired man.

"Hey Beat" Aang said as he trotted over to him grinning " Are you a Bender too?"

"Uh….what's a 'Bender' little dude?" Four jaws hit the ground at the same time as they just stared at the strange young man before them.

"You don't know what Bending is!?" Toph asked incredulously as she abandoned her anger for the moment to gape at Beat.

"Well…no, no I don't should I know what it is?"

"Bending is the manipulation of the 4 elements by using your chi energy" Katara explained "Everyone knows what it is…well at least I thought they did…where exactly are you from?"

"Well I'm not sure where the Earth Kingdom is…does anyone have a map or something?" Beat inquired before Sokka pulled a scroll from his bag and handed it to Beat who unrolled it and promptly staggered back and fell on his ass. "Wa-wa WHAT!?" Beats head shot up as he leveled a slightly panicked look at the four teens who eyed him warily his outburst having set them back on edge.

"What's wrong Beat is your home very far?" Katara asked concern lacing her voice as she walked over to the now shaking man.

"You could say that….according to this map I don't think I'm on the right planet"

"WHAT!?"

"WHAT!?"

"WHAT!?"

"WHAT!?"

"THAT'S WHAT I SAID!!"

Beat flopped back and sighed dejectedly as he looked up at the sky. "This is just perfect" he murmured "Trapped god knows where with no way to get home…and I'm half fucking naked" grunting softly he sat back up and looked at the four who were now eyeing him suspiciously.

"What the fuck y'all looking at?"

Sokka was the first to answer " You expect us to believe that you came from some other planet?"

"Mmm…maybe nothing that fantastic…I'm thinking it may just be some sort of alternate plain of reality" Beat mused, " I mean if I was on another planet I doubt I would find other humans here…I'm guessing whatever sent me here skipped me over some kind of dimensional boundary and landed me here with you guys"

Aang eyed Beat up and down before he turned to his friends, "I think we should take him with us guys"

"WHAT!? Are you insane Aang!? He fell out of the freakin sky!" His friends all clamored and yelled at him simultaneously. Beat meanwhile was pulling out a few items from the pockets of his now ruined pants and sighed softly.

"Well if you want I have some proof" Beat interjected causing all four to look at him once more as he held up a small black rectangular object about the size of a pack of cigarettes but much thinner. "This here is my MP3 player…uhm…well I suppose that doesn't tell you much actually" He chuckled as the four friends stared at him.

"Uh look to put it simply it plays music"

"No way" They all chorused causing Beat to sigh and look at Toph, "Oi cutie with the lavender eyes come here" Toph didn't move since she had no idea who he was talking to or what 'lavender' was either causing Beat to grunt and stand up and walk over to Toph he realized he was talking to her.

"Oh me…what do you want pervert?" She asked causing Beat to growl a bit.

"Well first of all I'm not a pervert I fell out of the damn sky. Next time I'll chuck you off a cliff and see how well you can control where ya land" Beat ground out causing Toph to shrink back slightly as the thought of falling scared her greatly.

"Y-Yeah whatever anyway what do you want!?"

"Here put these in your ears cutie" Beat said as he handed her two small buds that were attached to a cord that ran back to the small device. Toph hesitated and felt the small objects in her hands before glancing over at her friends for guidance.

"Careful Toph it could be some kind of trick" Sokka warned as he looked at the tiny black buds.

"Oh come on Sokka if he meant any harm don't you think he would have done something when he had Toph pinned down before?" Katara stated while Aang nodded his head in agreement.

Toph bit her lower lip before she set the objects in her ear and waited. Beat smiled and thumbed on the device and cycled through his music. "Since I doubt you guys have anything like the music from my world I'll start with something simple and soft" Beat explained as he selected a song and a beep sounded in Tophs ears causing her to jump and reach for her ears only for Beat to catch her hands.

"Relax Cutie I promise you'll be fine" Beat murmured soothingly causing Toph to blush and notice how big and warm his hands were wrapped around hers before she beat back those feelings and wrenched her hands from his and harrumphed before she stiffened as music started to pour into her ears but it was strange and foreign like nothing she'd ever heard and yet she loved it. It made her want to sway and move to the beat of the drums and guitar as the man singing sang about how he wanted to run through the halls of his high school…whatever high school was. Toph closed her eyes and sigh softly as the started to sway softly a gentle smile pulling at her lips while her friends looked on in awe as Toph's mood relaxed and her tension floated away. Almost as soon as it began the music came to an end and Toph plucked the buds from her ears and held them almost reverently.

"That was amazing!" Toph cried as she made to hand the buds back which Beat accepted readily while Aang and Katara started to pepper Toph with questions about his 'music'.  
"Well Toph how was it?" Aang asked excitedly practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as Katara waited for a response as well.

"It was amazing I've never heard anything like it " Toph said a bit of awe in her voice, "It was like there was an entire concert in my head playing only for me"

"Woooow" Katara and Aang chorus stars in their eyes at the thought of it before they wheeled around on Beat and scrambled over too him.

"ME NEXT!!" Aang and Katara cried out at once before Beat slipped the device back into his pocket with a grin.

"Maybe later yeah?" Beat said with a smile as he watched the two teens pout. Before Sokka walked over to him and looked him up and down.

"Ok so maybe your not a threat and you may not even be from this dymansion" Sokka said, "But if your going to travel with us we need to be sure you can defend yourself" Sokka grinned and gripped his club again and eased into a Water Tribe defensive stance. "Spar with me so I can see if your up to snuff"

Beat grinned and popped his knuckles before he pulled something else out of his pocket. It was a flask ,rather plain in coloration it was merely a dull silver, and he popped open the top and Toph wrinkled her nose and coughed.

"Oh gross its full of alcohol" Toph muttered in disgust as Katara gaped at Beat before he took a long drink.

"I must warn you…what I am about to do is something you most likely will never see another person on this planet do," Beat said as he drank again his cheeks starting to flush lightly," My style of combat is rare even where I come from not many being able to master the flow of the moves" Beat drank again before pocketing the flask and hiccupping and he gave Sokka a drunken grin, "Oh and its 'dimension' not 'dymansion' pretty boy".

All of a sudden he started to wobble and sway his hands held up in front of him the first two fingers bent at the second knuckle while the rest were balled into a fist. He staggered around seemingly drunk out of his mind as Sokka eyed him confusion clearly painted on his face.

"I'm not sure I can fight a drunk person you guys" Sokka murmured before he started to edge toward Beat his club sheathed again. "Hey come on man lets get you-" was as far as Sokka got because the moment he got with in a foot of Beat he lashed out his fist grazing his cheek opening up a small cut.

Beat grinned and hiccupped before he continued to stagger around his voice ringing out though with a slight slur to it, "Do not be so soon to dismiss me boy…what you see before you is one of the most complex forms of fighting on my planet" He started to flow with the grace of water before he stopped suddenly on one leg the other held out from his body the foot resting on the knee of his standing leg while his arms formed a crescent shape his fingers still curled into what Aang finally realized as the position in which you would hold a cup of rice wine, "Behold…Suiken- The Drunken Fist" Beat said before he relaxed and let out an almighty belch the mystique he had built up immediately broken as Aang and Toph roared with laughter and Katara wrinkled her nose and muttered something about immature boys.

"That was so cool Beat!" Aang said in awe as he rushed up to Beat a megawatt smile plastered on his face. "Can you teach me how to do that!?"

"I could…but in order to learn you need to at least know what it feels like to be drunk in the first place…well not really actually but it helps if you do" Beat grinned, "Helped me anyway"

Katara immediately sprang forward and grabbed Aang "Oh no your not teaching Aang your drunkard style while I'm around…at least not until he's old enough to drink".

"Aww but Katara" Aang whined as he started to protest.

"Don't you whine at me the last thing we need is you to be drunk and somehow activate the Avatar State," Katara argued the thought of which immediately shutting down any protests Aang could think of.  
Beat grinned at Katara's argument though he had no idea what the ' Avatar State' was he surmised it wasn't something to be toyed with.

"So am I ever going to find out the names of my gracious hosts?" Beat questioned as a smirk tugged on his lips as Katara flushed in embarrassment.

"Ah right" Katara cleared her throat, "My name is Katara and this is my brother Sokka", She pointed at her brother before continuing down the line, "This is Toph Bei Fong and that's Aang the Avatar"

"Nice to meet you all," Beat said before he looked at Aang, "Well if I'm going with you guys I better tell you about myself huh?". The four companions leaned in to listen all of them highly interested in this young man.

Beat grinned and cleared his throat, "My full name is Hayden Shepard but my friends call me Beat I'm 14 and I'm around 5'8 or so the last time I checked. I don't have too many hobbies or talents that are noteworthy but I do know a few different martial arts styles and as such can take care of myself if the need arises."

Aang raised his hand like he was back in class with the monks and Beat arched a brow "You can just ask your question Aang your not in school little buddy."

"Ah right well I was just wondering what styles you know?"

"Hmm I think I'll keep that bit of information too myself if you don't mind but I promise you I know enough that I won't hold you back" Beat said.

"Hey come on you can't just-"Sokka began before Katara laid a hand on his arm.

"Let him keep his secrets Sokka after all he is completely new here he has the right to not fully trust us yet." Katara said placating her brother who grunted and nodded.

Aang grinned and looked over the new member of their team excitedly before he launched into an explanation of his own abilities. The group spent the next several hours informing their newest comrade of their past adventures along with their future goals. Night fell upon the group and they soon retired resolving to begin the journey to Ba Sing Se in the morning.

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A/N

OK there it is my first venture into the gritty world of fanfiction. Let me know what you think and before anyone starts yes i glossed over the details of how Beat got here but it becomes a bigger part of the story later on i promise theres a lot more to him than what i've given you so bear with me. This story with be AU and i've got a pairing in mind for beat with Toph seeing as shes the only one in the series without a potential love interest...as for the others i may put up a vote for it later on but i am getting one thing out of the way right now...NO FREAKING YAOI...and just to be fair i'll go the other way and will not be putting Yuri in either.

There will be one or two more chapters of flashback before i get back to present time i want to establish a bit of back story for now. Anyway thanks for reading and don't be afraid to leave a review with an opnion or even an idea for me who knows i may use it(i'll even give you a shout out if i do) Also let me know if you spot any spelling or grammar errors i think i got them all but let me know i HATE spelling and grammar errors.

Ja

Soulnin


	2. Charming the Serpent's Path

Alright chapter 2 is here...and in record time for me i might add, since i tend to write slowly. Anyway enjoy it and i'll start on the third one. Oh and i forgot to mention in the last chapter i'm aging Toph and Aang a bit for the sake of the pairings.

Toph-14  
Aang-14

Other than that everything stays the same now onto the disclaimer!!(also lets hear it for my Beta Ibinx Rae for helping me iron out the bugs in this chapter before i posted it)*gives her digital cookie*

**Disclaimer- I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender I only lay claim to my OC Beat.**  
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Drunken Bender Chapter 2**

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Aang smiled softly at the ceiling as he remembered how they all met. It certainly has been a lot more interesting ever since Beat showed up he'd been laughing more even though they hadn't found Appa yet. Aang sighed as he remembered his fellow air bender and looked back out of the city before he shook his head.

"I need to get some sleep so we can search again tomorrow" Aang murmured to no one, before he rolled over and drifted off to sleep.

Toph sat on the roof quietly as she mulled over the things that had happened within the last few weeks. Her thoughts turned to Beat and the blind bender felt her face heat up before she growled and shook her head banishing the feelings. That kept happening but she couldn't figure out what was causing it and it only seemed to happen when she thought about Beat. Maybe it had to due with what happened a couple weeks ago.  
**

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Flashback 2- weeks prior**

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We find our heroes trudging along a long strip of road that's flanked by water on both sides. Beat is murmuring to Toph while she shook her head when suddenly the two shake hands and Beat sighs loudly.

"Man why the hell are we walking along this god-forsaken road when we could have taken the boat!?" Beat whined. Katara looked back at him in shock as whining and complaining were out of character for Beat.

"Don't whine you drunkard your acting like Sokka does when he doesn't get any meat" Toph growled. "He's the resident whiner in this group anyway!"

"Yeah!" Sokka piped up before his brain caught up with his mouth, "Wait a min-HEY!" Sokka cried out indignantly.

"YES!!" Beat crowed as he pumped his fist into the air, "Pay up, I told you I could get him to agree to it!" Beat said with a grin before he held a hand out to Toph who growled and grumbled before she set a few coins in his hands that he happily pocketed. "Ah I love it when I win" Beat mused happily as Suki placated a now depressed Sokka.

The group continued on before Aang pointed out toward the water. "Look it's a Fire Nation patrol boat" Aang said as they all looked out onto the water toward the large steel boat as it glided along the glassy surface of the water belching out black smoke.

"You think they see us?" Beat asked as he eyed the boat wearily and waved a hand at the Earth Kingdom refugees they were escorting and they began to move again but kept an eye on the boat as they continued along the Serpent's Pass.

"No, I don't think they've noticed us" Sokka said, "Lets keep moving before that changes though."

Beat nodded and turned to follow before the earth under his feet gave way and he started to fall into the sea suddenly a slab of rock shot out of the side of the path and caught him but the rocks he dislodged clattered down the side of the wall and hit the water with a resounding splash. Suddenly large balls of flame were heading towards them.

"Nice going drunkard!" Toph growled at him before punching him in the arm.

"Well excuse me for not defying gravity with my amazing powers of flight" Beat shot back as he rubbed his arm, girl or not Toph hit really hard.

"Out of the way!" Aang cried as he jumped over Beat and flipped open the back of his glider and swung it hard at one of the fireballs causing it to veer to the left and explode on the cliff face away from the refugees as they continued to divert the fireballs for a moment when with an almighty swing Aang diverted a ball right back at the ship causing the aft end to explode in flames and twisted metal before one more ball shot out impacting with the cliff above Suki as the cliff face crumbled Sokka pushed her forward out of the way putting himself in harms way. Thinking quickly Toph shifted and pushed her hand out causing an earth ramp to shoot out over Sokka diverting the rock fall away from him and over the side.

"Suki are you ok!?" Sokka asked as he helped her to her feet, "You have to be more careful!"

"Thanks for saving my life Toph" Toph mused to herself as Sokka brushed past her without so much as a thank you," Oh its no problem Sokka," She continued before Beat nudged her softly causing her to look over at him.

"Thanks for saving my life Toph" Beat said with a grin before he walked on past her leaving Toph behind him as she blushed lightly before shaking it off and jogging to catch up with the rest of the group before she was left behind.

Night fell and the group set up camp not wanting to risk the perils of the Serpent's Pass at night time. During the night Katara confronted Aang about his lack of emotion recently while Suki confessed her feelings to Sokka. While all this was going on Toph and Beat got to know each other a bit better telling each other about their lives before the adventure.

The next morning after a few hours walking they came to a point in the path were it had seemingly washed out and for the next hundred yards or so it was an open expanse of water with the path once more rising out of the water in the distance.

"Now what?" Beat asked as he set a hand above his eyes so he could peer over at the path across the water.

"Aang I need your help" Katara said as she start to bend the water in front of her splitting it open so they could continue their trek by just walking under the water. Aang took a place at the back of the group and started to bend as well but not before handing off his staff to Toph so he could have both hands free. The problem solved the group continued their journey. As the group marveled at the fish and plant life on the bottom of the sea Momo, who had been riding on Beats shoulder for the moment, leapt out of the protective bubble to swim around chasing the fish before something huge swung by him causing him to shoot back out of the water and latch back on to Beat's shoulder. The large shadow swam around the small group before something huge shot through the bubble bursting it causing gallons of water to pour in. As everyone scream Toph slammed her foot into the ground and raised up a column of earth to above water level saving them from drowning before a huge serpent like animal reared out of the water with a roar.

"I think I figured out why they call it the Serpent's Pass" Sokka murmured as the creature roared again and eyed his potential dinner. Thinking quickly Sokka grabbed Momo and held him up towards the creature.

"Oh great and mighty Serpent please accept this humble snack in place of us!" Sokka yelled.

"SOKKA!" Katara cried as she scolded her brother allowing Momo to wriggle free. Using the distraction the Serpent lunged forward only for Aang to spring out and launch a crescent shaped blast of air into its facing knocking it back as it shrieked in pain and annoyance.

"Katara, get everyone to safety!!" Aang shouted as he flipped open his glider and soared off to distract the Serpent while Katara leapt off the small rock island and swung her arms the water underneath her solidifying into a length of thick ice. Repeating the process a few times she connected the island to the remainder of the Serpents Path and the refugees, Suki, and Sokka ran towards the other side leaving Toph and Beat on the small island. Toph was a bit nervous to get on the bridge as she wouldn't be able to see and Beat hadn't left because he was still staring at the giant Serpent that Aang was fighting. Animals simple didn't get that huge where he was from and the sight still had him reeling.

"Come on you guys!" Sokka cried. "Cross the bridge hurry!"

Toph set a foot on the bridge and immediately couldn't see anything and she quickly lifted her foot.

"Ya know I think I'll just stay on my little island where I can see!" Toph yelled over to Sokka while Beat suddenly noticed the tail of the beast was heading straight for Toph and he blurred into motion, time seemed to slow down as Sokka screamed Tophs name and she simply looked confused before she felt some of the tail hit the edge of her island and she paled her head shooting up to stare at the tail before she felt something hit her back knocking her onto the bridge. Just before she hit the bridge she realized that Beat had been on the island with her and she screamed as she felt the tail slam onto the island obliterating it and rocketing Beat into oblivion. Time seemed to speed back up as Katara and Sokka looked on in horror the beasts tail swinging away leaving no sign of Beat.

"Oh god no," Katara whispered as she pressed her face into Suki's shoulder while Sokka fought back the growing horror and screamed at Toph who had yet to move.

"Toph move it come on its just a bit further HURRY!" Sokka roared causing Toph to shake of the shock and scramble to her feet and start crab walking towards the shore her inability to see causing her to be slower than normal. As Aang continued to distract the creature its tail slammed into the ice bridge shattering it like glass sending a screaming Toph into the water where she thrashed about.

"HELP I CAN'T SWIM!!" Toph cried in panic as she struggled to stay above water.

"DON"T WORRY TOPH I'M COMING!!" Sokka yelled to her as he started to struggle with his boots before Suki brushed past him but froze just before jumping into the water. As Sokka eyed her curiously he turned his gaze to whatever Suki was looking at and his jaw dropped. Pulling himself out of the water was Beat alive and well though a bit moister than he would have preferred. Looking over to Toph he saw her sink beneath the waves.

"BEAT SAVE TOPH SHE CAN'T SWIM" Sokka yelled and pointed over to where she sank the water still disturbed from her thrashing. Without missing a step Beat leapt back into the water and swam over to where she went down and dove under the water after a few frantic moments he resurface with Toph clutched in an arm.

"Oh Sokka you saved me, thank you so much!" Toph swooned before she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek causing Beat the flush lightly and cough in embarrassment.

"Uh…Toph its me" Beat said softly and Toph froze her lips still attached to his cheek before she pulled back her eyes tearing up, though with all the water flowing down her face you couldn't tell, before she launched forward again this time her lips slamming against his. Beat froze in shock though luckily his legs kept moving to keep them afloat but his face took on the hue of a ripe tomato before Toph pulled back and slugged him in the face.

"YOU ASS DON'T YOU EVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!!" She screamed at him emotion clear in her voice. "I…I thought you had…for me" She trailed off before she shook her head and slugged him in the arm, "J-Just get me out of this water its freaking cold" She murmured and Beat nodded his head and started swimming for shore.

"One more thing Beat" Toph said as they started came to shore.

"Yeah Toph?" He answered.

"We will never speak of this or I will bury you so deep not even the worms will find you do you understand me?" Toph said in a sickly sweet voice that promised pain if he should answer with anything but agreement.

"Y-yeah of course Toph I won't say a word" Beat said as he shrank back a bit before he saw Katara and Aang out on the water spinning the giant creature around in a huge whirlpool before the Serpents head slammed into the side a cliff and sank under the waves before swimming off to find easier prey to eat.

As Aang and Katara came back to shore Katara burst into tears and clung onto Beat who looked around awkwardly before patting her back lightly.

"C-come on now Katara I'm fine" Beat mumbled as he started to turn blue a bit from the strength of Katara's hug.

"B-but you…and the tail…a-a-and the boom" Katara stammered before she wailed again and pressed her face into his chest.

Beat looked over at Aang and Sokka pleadingly but frowned as he saw them all snickering at his predicament, he then looked at Toph but saw she wasn't even paying attention. Though when he sighed and looked away he thought he heard the sound of an angry cat come from Toph, but he dismissed it as his imagination.

Sometime later they crested a hill and Sokka ran forward and pointed off into the distance.

"Look it's the wall we made it!" Sokka said happily. "Nothing can go wrong now!" Almost like fate was waiting for someone to say it one of the earth kingdom refugees by the name of Ying clutched her large belly and let out a hiss of pain causing her husband to rush up and lower her to the ground gently.

"W-what's wrong with her?" Sokka asked as she moaned in pain.

"T-The baby's coming now!" Ying moaned as she felt a contraction rip through her body.

"Now!?" Sokka said not believing it " W-well can't you just hold it or something!?"

"Its not like going to the bathroom Sokka" Beat mused as Katara rushed over and took charge sending Aang off for rags, Sokka for water and had Toph create a large earth tent before Katara went in to help with the delivery and Beat leaned against the tent standing guard as Katara hadn't told him to do anything.

As time passed Katara helped Ying through her pain leading her through the delivery.

"That's it Ying push" Katara said gently before she turned towards the front of the tent, "Sokka where's that water!" Sokka quickly came in with a water skin before he caught sight of Ying and wobbled before fainting dead away dropping the water only for a hand to snap out and catch it before it splashed everywhere.

Beat looked down at the unconscious Sokka with a wry grin as he clutched the water. "You're a manly man aintcha?"

"Beat the water!!" Katara yelled at him causing him to jump and head into the tent.

"Yeah yeah I'm coming" Beat said, as he ducked inside.

An hour later saw our heroes outside the earth tent and Sokka rubbing his face with a damp rag while Toph needled him.

"It's a girl!" Katara said from inside the tent, "It's a beautiful baby girl!"

"You wanna go see the baby or are you gonna faint again" Toph shot at Sokka one more time causing Beat to snicker softly.

"No, no, I'm ok lets go," Sokka said and they all filed into the tent after a few moments Aang stepped in and watched the new parents cradle their child and tears filled his eyes which he soon wiped away.

"Seeing things like this" Aang said, "The simple things like the love parents have for their children makes me realize. Hope is sometimes all that we have…and that might be all we need to pull through in the darkest times."

Ying smiled softly before turning to her husband, "I know what I want to name our daughter." She said before looking down at the sleeping baby. "Hope, we'll call her Hope"

"That's a beautiful name" Katara agreed.

After a time Aang and his friends were standing outside the tent and Aang apologized for his behavior over the last couple days.

"I realize now how much Appa means to me" He said as he looked up at Katara. "and how much you mean to me too". Katara smiled softly and tears flowed down her face before she wiped them away and Aang opened up his glider.

"You ready Momo?" he asked looking down at the flying lemur who chirped and spread his own wings before they both took to the air.

"Dang man I'm glad he finally got it off his chest" Beat said as Aang flew out of sight "The savior of the planet can't be emo, can he?"

"Ugh Beat dammit" Toph said before whacking him across the back of the head.  
**

* * *

End Flashback**

* * *

As Toph came back from the recesses of her mind she yawned and dropped off the roof and headed inside to sleep. Tomorrow was another long day of searching for answers while dealing with that infuriating Ju Dee. As Toph lay down her sleep addled mind came to a conclusion that thrust the Earth bender back into consciousness. She realized now why her chest hurt and why she made such a fool of herself around Beat she threw her gaze over to the sleeping drunken master and her face flushed again. She, Toph Bei Fong, had fallen prey to that one thing that makes fools of us all….Toph was in love.

* * *

**A/N**

Woo that was a good one...at least i think so...you'll notice I've made Toph a bit AU but seeing as a person she hardly knew saved her seemingly died came back and saved her you can kind of understand her reaction. I'm not going to push it much further for awhile I'm going to have Toph sort through what shes feeling a bit more. I'll also explain how Beat managed to survive a bit later. Theres gonna be one more chapter of flashback dealing with the drill and then I'm gonna tackle the Ba Sing Se arc with my own spin on things. You'll also notice the stories been a bit more OC centric this time around thats mainly because i want to weave Beat into the story a bit more the upcoming chapters are going to break away from him a bit more and next chapter Azula, Mai and Ty Lee appear and we see how Azula takes Beat's unusual fighting style from another world.

Also just to stave off any questions at the begining i refered to another air bender and my beta brought this up as well because it confused her i was refering to Appa. If you watched the cartoon its explained that Sky Bison bend the air in their own unique way in order to fly. I think it was one of the episodes before the spirit library. Anyway the next chapter should be out in the next couple of days until then read and review and let me know if you find anymore mistakes we missed

Ja,

**Soulnin**


	3. The Secret Beat

Alright heres the next one for your viewing pleasure i'm also going to be visiting family for a few days so no updates for a bit but i'll be back soon. Once again i want to thank Ibinix Rae for helping me with the betaing of this chapter. now..ON TO THE DISCLAIMER!!  
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**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender i only lay claim to my OC Beat**

**DISCLAIMER DISCLAIMER: After this chapter i'm not doing the disclaimer anymore**

**

* * *

**

**Drunken Bender**

* * *

As dawn shimmered on the horizon, life in Ba Sing Se was starting to rouse as well. The farmers in the Outer Ring were waking up to tend to their crops and livestock while the birds and other small animals shook off sleep and began their daily routine of finding food. Meanwhile, in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se a certain master of Drunken Kung Fu was practicing in the back yard of a modest-sized house his black shirt and red jacket hung on the railing of the back porch while he glided through the forms of his favorite martial art like quicksilver. It was entrancing, the way his muscles moved and coiled with a feline grace each move flowing seamlessly together in a pattern so ingrained his body required only the smallest bit of concentration on his part. As such Beat's mind began to wander as he thought back to their last battle, the giant drill, and of fire…  
**  


* * *

Flashback 1 week prior**

* * *

As Aang came swooping back down to rejoin his friends Katara brought up the question on everyone's mind at his reappearance.

"Aang what are you doing back so soon?" Katara inquired. "I thought you were going to find Appa"

"Appa is going to have to wait for now," Aang said a grim note in his voice as he walked with them to the wall where he and Toph bent a chunk of earth out of the ground and had it rise up along the wall.

"Well what could possibly make Appa have to wait?" Sokka asked before Beat slung an arm around his shoulder.

"Call it a wild guess but I'm going to go with Option A" Beat said as he turned Sokka so he could see the huge drill flanked by Fire Nation tanks rumbling across the plains toward the Great Wall of Ba Sing Se.

Sokka's jaw dropped and he slapped his palm to his forehead "OH COME ON!!" he moaned out in frustration while Ying and the other refugees huddled together before Ying spoke her voice full of despair.

"We made it to Ba Sing Se but even here we are not safe" She said on the verge of tears as her husband tried to comfort her before an Earth Kingdom guard spotted them and walked over.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, "Civilians aren't allowed on the Wall"

"Take me to whoever's in charge" Aang said his voice laced with authority, "I'm the Avatar."

A few moments later after Ying, her husband, and the rest of the refugees were escorted into the city Aang and his friends were brought before the head of the attack against the drill.

"Ah Avatar Aang we are honored by your presence," He said his voice oozing arrogance and overconfidence, "But your assistance is not needed."

"What?" Aang said slightly taken aback at the quick brush off, "Not needed?"

"Yes not needed", He responded as he stood up and walked around his desk and past the group over to the edge of the wall. "You see no one can breach the walls of Ba Sing Se that is why it is called 'Ba Sing Se' it is The Impenetrable City after all we don't call it 'Na Sing Se'" He said with a chuckle before he stopped seeing as no one else laughed, "That means Penetrable City", He explained.

"What about the Dragon of the West?" Toph asked, "He made it through the wall"

"A-ah well yes, but he was quickly expunged," He said taken off guard at Toph's quick comeback before he turned back around and looked over at the incoming drill missing Beat bump his fist against Toph's with a snicker.

"You go girl" Beat murmured to her causing Toph to grin before they looked back at the General who had started speaking again.

"Anyway I have already dispatched our most powerful team of Earthbenders known as the Terra Team," The general said his voice oozing arrogance again as he watch his Earthbenders ride waves of earth over to the drill.

"Hey that's a catchy name" Sokka said while Beat rushed over to watch the benders a mischievous grin plaster on his face.

"Wait for it" Beat said as he watched the Terra Team slam pillars of earth into the side of the drill while other benders shot waves of earth at the tanks flipping them onto their sides rendering them immobile. "Here it comes~" Beat said in a singsong voice moments before the pillars of earth shattered and his team was dispatched by two people that had come out of the drill.

The general watched in horror as his best team was demolished in the blink of an eye and he fell to his knees, "WE'RE DOOMED!!" He yelled in horror while Beat roared with laughter before he wiped his eyes and looked at the almost sobbing man.

"Thank you and goodnight" Beat chuckled before Toph slugged him in the arm causing him to grumble and slide and a foot between her legs hooking his leg around hers before pulling back taking out her left leg causing her to fall on her ass with an indignant squeak before she leapt up and started chasing him around swearing at the top of her lungs and promising him bodily harm.

Later on after the Earth forces had recovered their wounded and Beat escaped an asswhupping by the skin of his teeth they discovered that Ty Lee was the one who had defeated some of the Earthbenders. As Katara explained Ty Lee's fighting style Beat looked interested and Sokka had an epiphany.

"So let me get this straight." Beat mused," You want us to go inside that thing and take it out from the inside?"

"That's right," Sokka said quite proud of himself.

"That's insane Sokka," Katara said, "We already know that Ty Lee is in there which means Azula and Mai are probably in there as well."

"It's the only plan we have Katara," Aang said, "We need to stop this thing before it gets through the wall or else Ba Sing Se is history and the Earth Kingdom as well."

"I love this plan," Beat crowed as he wrapped an arm around Toph and hugged her to his side while he thrust his other fist into the air, "I'm excited to be a part of it!"

"Get off me Beat" Toph growled

"Aww but your so cuddly!" Beat whined before Toph socked him in the crotch and he fell like a ton of bricks.

"Ok point taken," Beat wheezed from the ground.

"One question though," Beat asked as he popped back up as though he hadn't taken a shot to the beanbag "How do we get over there with no one noticing us a mile away," He elaborated while swinging his arm over the vast expanse of open ground between them and the drill.

"Ah see that's where Toph comes in," Sokka said while Beat simply looked confused.

**

* * *

Scene Break: Inside the Bridge of the Drill**

* * *

"Soon Princess Azula our drill will pierce through the wall of Ba Sing Se and our troops will lay waste to the Earth Kingdom capital and you can finally claim victory for your father," A man with gray hair and a long beard in the clothes of a Fire Nation War Minister said smugly before he turned to look at the three women behind him,

"Of course War Minister Ching, after all if this attack fails we both know who will be held responsible don't we?" Azula said with a smirk causing Ching to gulp and turn back around.

"Y-yes of course princess," Ching stammered.

"When do we get to do something Azula those Earthbenders were hardly a challenge," Mai muttered dryly

"I don't know some of them were kind of cute!" Ty Lee chirped while she bounced in her seat.

"Soon Mai, soon" Azula answered her eyes steely as she watched the Wall of Ba Sing Se loom ever closer to the drill.  
**  


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Scene Break: Underground en route to Drill**

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"Hurry up Toph its so dark I can't see down here, " Sokka groused as they made their way towards the drill via an underground tunnel Toph was bending for them.

"Oh no, what a nightmare," Toph shot back sarcastically before she popped a hole open right above them revealing the underside of the drill and the sounds of metal grinding and steam hissing.

"Ah heh…sorry Toph" Sokka said sheepishly

"Whatever," Toph mutter before they all climbed out and looked around before they located an access panel a few yards away.

"Ok so how do we open it?" Beat asked before Toph slammed her heel into the ground and a spike of earth shot up and destroyed the panel causing Beat to wipe a faux tear from his eye before he turned to Toph.

"Damn your violent," Beat said before he leaned over and smooched her cheek and leapt up into the drill before she could react his voice floating back, "I think I'm in love~~"

"BEAT I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS WHEN YOU GET BACK HERE!!" Toph said her face cherry red.

Aang shook his head and climbed in after him followed by Sokka leaving Katara with Toph.

"You sure you wanna stay out here Toph?" Katara asked as she watched the diminutive Earthbender seethe.

"Yeah I'll be fine besides I wouldn't be able to bend in there anyway," Toph said, "After all I can pass the time by thinking of ways to torture Beat when he gets back" Toph grinned evilly causing Katara to shake her head and climb in. Shortly there after Toph shot a pillar of earth into the opening and braced her feet trying to slow the drill as much as she could.

After the four companions wandered around for a moment Aang spoke up breaking the tense silence as they weaved their way through a maze of hissing pipes,

"Ok so we're inside, but how do we find our way around here this place is huge"

Sokka rubbed his chin with one hand as he gripped the hilt of his club with the other. "Well a place this big must have engineers and if it has engineers," He mused before Katara interrupted him

"They'd have schematics to the drill, Sokka you're a genius" Katara said smiling at her brother.

"Look at you with your big ol' brain" Beat teased good naturedly before Sokka unsheathed his club and knocked a pressure valve off a pipe before the group ducked down behind some pipes. Sure enough a few moments later a big burly engineer showed up and pulled out a piece of parchment when suddenly the steam surrounding him solidified into ice trapping him.

"Thanks for the plans" Sokka said as he jogged up and tugged them out of his hand before he and the others ran off to examine the plans. After that they discovered the drill was made up of an inner core and an outer shell held in place by large braces they concocted a plan. Heading towards the first brace they began the process of cutting through it while Beat listened to music on his MP3 player and Sokka cheered Aang and Katara on much to Katara's growing annoyance.

Meanwhile, back underneath the drill Toph was struggling to keep her place as sweat beaded on her forehead the drill continuing its inexorable march forward.

"Come on Twinkle Toes hurry up!" Toph grunted as she was pushed back ever further.

With a screech of metal the brace was sheered clean through and it slide forward only for nothing to happen. Suddenly, the whole drill began to shake much to Sokka's delight, "Alright we took it down now we need to get out of here" He said and they all began to run for the exit but froze as a voice rang out over the speaker system of the drill.

"Congratulations crew, our drill has just reached the wall of Ba Sing Se it is now the countdown to victory!" The voice on the speaker crackled before it went dead.

After brainstorming they came up with a new plan, they would attack multiple braces and then Aang would deliver the final blow from up top, quickly putting their new plan into effect they cut through multiple braces.

**

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Scene Break: Bridge of the Drill**

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"Not much longer now Princess Azu-" War Minister Ching was cut off as a voice crackled over a speaker.

"War Minister an engineer was ambushed and his plans were stolen!" just as that one finished another came over the speaker.

"War Minister a brace on the west side has been cut clean through its sabotage sir!"

A panicked look crossed his face as he looked at Princess Azula who sneered at him before standing up." Mai, Ty Lee, lets go we have a visitor." with that the three women left the bridge and War Minister Ching's face fell.

**

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Scene Break: Outer Shell of the Drill**

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As Katara and Aang worked on another brace they were interrupted when all of a sudden Beat appeared next to Katara and his hand snapped out and pulled a knife out of the air,

"Wow that was cool~!" Ty Lee said in awe before she spotted Aang" Ooo look Azula you were right the Avatar is here." before she looked over at Sokka and shot him a seductive look, "and friends~."  
Sokka grinned and waved at her before Beat ran by smacking him in the back of the head before Katara latched onto his collar and dragged him off. Azula and Mai ran back into the inner core of the ship to give pursuit while Ty Lee tried to leap over only to be repelled by a blast of air from Aang before he escaped into the inner part of the ship. Soon they came to a crossroads Sokka and Katara headed left while Aang paused and shouted at them.

"I need to get to the top of this thing," He yelled before turning right only to pause as Katara's voice rang out.

"Wait Aang!," She called causing him to stop and turn around before Katara threw the canteen with the water in it at him which he caught. "You need that more than I do," she explained before she and Sokka turned and ran down the hallway. Aang smiled and turned around only to run right into Beat.

"Ow what the- Beat?"

"Present~" Beat said with a grin. "I'm coming with you man your gonna need cover I imagine it seemed that the chick with the blue flames had a hard on for you"

"You mean Azula?" Aang asked, getting a nod in response, "Yeah she does but your out of your league with her she's insanely strong"

"Nah I'll be fine I have a strategy I want to try anyway so come on lead the way oh mighty Avatar" Beat said causing Aang to roll his eyes and the duo headed for the top of the drill.

**

* * *

Scene Break: With Sokka and Katara**

* * *

Sokka and Katara ran down the hallway at breakneck speed before Sokka stopped short and read a small sign before he began to unscrew a small hatchway on top of a pipe.

"Sokka what are you doing we need to get out of here!" Katara said as she ran back to her brother.

"This is our way out look it says 'Slurry Pipeline' this thing has all the of run off for the drill, like rock and water, it's probably being piped to the back of the drill and dumped out" Sokka explained as he wrenched open the hatch revealing a thick gooey sludge-like substance flowing towards the back of the drill before he leapt inside.

"Eww gross" Katara moaned before reluctantly following her brother moments before Mai and Ty Lee arrived at the open hatch.

"I'm not getting in that wall juice" Mai said dryly

"Come on Mai we have to or Azula will get mad at us" Ty Lee said

"Hey she can shoot all the lightning she wants at me its not happening"

"Ugh fine" Ty Lee said before jumping into the pipe before Mai closed it and rushed off towards the back of the drill to provide cover for her friend.  
**  


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Scene Break: With Aang and Beat on top of the Drill**

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After Aang and Beat dodged a few boulders being tossed down from the top of the wall Aang began to carve an X shaped groove into the top of the drill.

"Some weather we're having huh?" Beat said with a wry chuckle as he watched a boulder clank off the side of the drill.

Suddenly, a burst of blue flame exploded at his feet knocking him forward, but he managed to roll with it twisting around and onto his feet once more as he slid a bit in the slurry that hadn't made it into the piping system looking around for who attacked him before laying eyes on Azula.

"Ah hey it's the hot chick" Beat said causing Aang to look up and start to move forward to engage her before Beat shot out an arm stopping him, "Leave her to me you have a city to save."

"But Beat she's too strong she'll rip you apart" Aang said as he tried to push past only to stop as Beat looked at him all hint of that mischievous prankster gone from those now cold steel eyes.

"You underestimate me Aang" Beat said before he walked forward to intercept Azula stopping a few yards away,

"Out of my way commoner I have an Avatar to slay" Azula said

"Ah I'm afraid I can't let you do that see he's a friend of mine and besides" Beat grinned as he popped his knuckles, "I've been looking for something to punch for awhile now"

"Punch?" Azula snorted "How barbaric, what makes you think you can even get close enough to me before I roast you like the tinder you are fool?"

"Try me sparky!" Beat snarled back before he ran forward dodging a blast of fire by sliding underneath it on his knees before he pitched forward and pushed off with his arms and buried his feet into Azula's gut launching her back before he spun around and regained his feet as Azula gasped for air,

"Y-You Slime you dare assault Fire Nation royalty!?!" She said her voice low and dangerous as she regained her feet, "I will roast you and feed your carcass to a Platypus Bear" she snarled before launching blast after blast of fire at Beat who swayed and danced around them causing Azula to become angrier and angrier.  
**  


* * *

Scene Break: The back of the drill**

* * *

Slurry poured from the back of the drill in a steady stream a large pool of it already forming on the ground before Sokka and Katara came tumbling out of the pipe and sliding along the slick ground before stumbling to their feet with some difficulty the slurry making the ground slick and hard to stand on.

"Oh god and the aftertaste," Sokka gagged out before he spit out a mouthful of slurry.

Looking back at the pipe they saw Ty Lee come out of the pipe but thinking quickly Katara bent the water of the slurry back holding the slurry, and consequently Ty Lee, back.

"That's it little sister if you hold that in like that when Aang hits it the whole thing will be ready to pop" Sokka said, "That's it keep it steady don't tense up too mu-" Sokka was abruptly cut off when Katara snapped at him her temper finally getting the best of her.

"Will you shut up this would be easier if you weren't chattering like a rabid Hogmonkey!"

"Just bend the slurry woman!!" Sokka shot back only for Katara to shift the slurry under him causing him to fall over and get a second taste of slurry.

"Hey you guys need any help" A voice rang out and they both looked up to see Toph walking towards them.

"Yeah Toph help me block up this pipe" Katara said as Toph took her place next to her before she stomped, shifted her hips and thrust her hands forward causing the slurry and Ty Lee to rocket back into the drill pipes inside bulging with the pressure build up as they held it in. Now it was simply a matter of waiting for Aang to complete his part of the mission.

"Hey," Sokka said as he looked around, "Where's Beat?"

Katara and Toph shared a look and sighed "Oh jeez," They both muttered.  
**

* * *

**

**Scene Break: On top of the drill  
**

* * *

"HOLD STILL SO I CAN FRY YOU!!!" Azula screamed as Beat dodged another tongue of flame before he looked back at Aang.

"You almost done man its getting a bit toasty over here!" Beat called back as Aang finally bent the water back into the canteen.

"Just a bit longer Beat your doing great," Aang said as he shifted a boulder that had just landed next to him over the X he had carved and began sculpting it into a spike.

"Sweet," Beat said as he started moving closer to Azula before intercepting her wrists mid-bending with a grin." You know I came to realize something in the short time I've been here," He said ignoring Azulas struggles, "You benders rock at mid to long range combat but when someone gets in your face like I am now," Beat then pushed Azula back throwing her off balance before he chambered his fist and let it rocket into her gut with such force she bent over his fist and he looked down regarding her coldly, "You suck."

Pulling his arm back he took a step back before firing his left leg straight up bringing his heel to bare across Azula's jaw with a sickening crack and the Fire Princess flew backwards landing in a undignified heap as Aang came crashing down on the spike causing the whole drill to rumble before it collapsed with a screech of metal and an explosion of slurry.

"Alright go Aang!!" Beat said as he clapped happily but looked confused as Aang looked at him in horror.

"BEAT LOOK OUT!!" Aang cried out and Beat spun around only for a ball of blue fire to explode upon his chest knocking him back 20 feet into the wall where he slumped down with a groan.

"BEAT!!" Aang said and rushed over to him only for Azula to intercept him and pin him against the wall, her hand glowing ominously.

"Finally," Azula slurred out her jaw cracked from the blow Beat landed on her, "I'll kill you myself and end this stupid war with victory for the Fire Nation."

"You know that wasn't very nice bitch," a voice rang out from behind her and she looked back shock visible in her eyes, there stood Beat his chest bleeding and burnt while holding a shard of metal from the drill before he rushed forward while Azula turned to intercept him.

When asked later Aang could honestly say he couldn't really see what Beat did for certain all he knew was that he seemed to dance and spin around her the piece of metal flashing in the sunlight as he sliced at her over and over while Azula shot flame at him but landed only a few glancing blows, before they switched places Beat crouched down in front of Aang the piece of metal held in front of him the sharp edge glinting in the sunlight before he grinned evilly and murmured.

"Beat's Secret Technique: Pervert's Paradise" with that he dropped the metal where it clanged against the hull and, with a dull ripping sound, Azula's clothes fell off her pooling around her feet leaving her clad in frilly, black boy shorts and no bra before she screamed bloody murder and ran off defeated in the worst possible way.

After that Beat collapsed and Aang had to drag him back to the others where Katara healed his chest up but despite her best efforts some scarring remained. After the shot he took from Azula, Beat slept for 4 days straight while everyone else looked for Appa.

* * *

**End Flashback**

* * *

Beat stumbled a bit as the phantom pain of the fire impacting with his chest played over him again and he placed a hand over the small scar on his chest. With a sigh he stopped his practice and looked up noticing that the sun was much higher in the sky and looking down at his shadow he deduced it was around 11am. Rolling his shoulders to loosen himself back up he turned on his heel and grabbed his clothes before heading inside to wake up everyone. Pausing at the door he looked back over his shoulder at the palace of the Earth King, something in the back of his mind telling him that the easy part of his journey was just about over.

**

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Scene Break: Inside the Earth Kingdom Palace**

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Three woman clad in green robes were kneeling in front of the Earth King as he smiled down on them with interest.

"The city of Ba Sing Se welcomes the warriors of Kiyoshi Island." The Earth King said as he spread his arms wide, "I hope you find the city to be enjoyable after your long journey."

The woman with the forward most position looked up, her painted face failing to hide who she was to anyone who knew the original warriors, before she smiled and nodded her head respectfully at the Earth King.

"We thank you, my lord, for welcoming us so warmly we're sure your city will prove to be most interesting to us" She said a brief flash of triumph crossed her eyes, as back tn the house that Beat walked into a foul wind swept over the backyard swirling the leaves on the trees but Beat remained oblivious as he went to wake his companions.

* * *

**A/N**

Yes i know that last part is way early but deal with it the stories AU and i need them there for my plot so suck it up and omg 3 chappies within 48 hours my muse refuses to let me sleep T~T anyway happy halloween to everyone out there good luck with the candy and I hope you enjoyed this chappie it gives to a better glimpse of what Beat can do, you also may have noticed he didn't use drunken kung fu in this chapter that was simply because if you factor in Azulas personality i doubt she'd let Beat just stand there and drink liqour in front of her, so i had him use a more freeform style. Also in order to keep myself from over powering my OC i will allow myself to give him no more than three fighting styles as of now i've used two and i'll keep the third in reserve for now. After some talking with my beta i have also decided to teach him one count'em ONE bending style but that won't be for a while yet, at least not until after the Day of Black Sun arc. So this was the last flashback chapter i feel like i've cemented Beat into the story line rather well and from here on out i'm gonna be hitting the Ba Sing Se arc from the point of the party...also some of you maybe wondering where Zuko and Iroh are along with Jet well rest assured I will be putting them in here at some point but i didn't feel the need to break up the story with how the snuck into the earth kingdom you know they're there i know they're there deal with it. Anyway the next chapter is i'm going to cut and paste a few things out of canon toph will learn to bend metal early , I'm also going to push up the pairing of Toph and Beat simply because I've had a recent brain storm and it requires i do this...i promise though that i will make it as 'realistic' as i can and my beta will help me with the romantic parts.

Ja,

Soulnin


	4. Toph's Beat

I have returned as i said i would and i have homework for all you readers. _**I have set up a Poll on my profile which will determine which element Beat will end up Bending**._ So go vote for it and i will post up the new chapter sometime next week once i see what you guys pick. Anyway for now enjoy the story and keep on reviewing i'd love to get more.

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Drunken Bender Ch. 4**

* * *

As Beat walked back into the house from training, he grunted and rolled his shoulders a series of pops sounding from his back before he walked over and booted Sokka in the ass causing him to curse and shoot Beat a glare.

"Why must you insist on doing that to wake me up?" Sokka ground out.

"Because it amuses me," Beat said simply and Sokka merely sighed and headed into the restroom to get moved then on and roused Aang, who sat up and rubbed at his eyes before looking around bleary-eyed, and half awake before heading into the bathroom adjacent to the one Sokka had entered.

Grinning evilly Beat snuck over to Katara, leaned down slipped the ear buds from his MP3 player into her ears before he cycled through his music and stopped on a song before hitting play.

Katara shot up with a shriek as she was shot into consciousness by the dulcet tones of Heavy Metal.

After Beat recovered from the beating Katara administered on him he moved over to Toph and looked down at her smiling softly as he felt that familiar fluttering sensation in his chest. He then brushed it off and leaned down and blew into her ear causing her to moan out and blush lightly before her eyes shot open, she slugged him in the face, rolled to her feet and stomped off swearing under her breath and blushing lightly. Beat, meanwhile, tilted his head back to stem the flow of blood from his nose. After everyone finished getting ready for the day they sat down and began to try to figure out what to do for the day as it was too late to mount an effective search for Appa.

Beat yawned and listened to them plan before a knock at the door made him helicopter his legs around regaining his feet while Toph muttered 'showoff' as he passed by while chuckling.

"Your just jealous" Beat shot back as he opened the door and grunted in irritation as there stood Ju Dee with that large, fake smile plastered on her face again.

"Hello Avatar and friends I am here to help you search for your bison again today," Ju Dee said her voice full of false cheer.

Beat's eye started to twitch as he turned around and jerked his head at the door, a motion which Aang caught and he rolled his eyes before Katara got up and walked over to the door to explain to Ju Dee what was happening that day.

"That chick bugs me," Beat said as he sat down and flipped through his music again before Katara came back in holding an envelope addressed to Toph.

"Toph you've got a letter," Katara said as she sat back down and handed it to her. Toph took the letter opened it up and felt at the Braille letters her eyes widening with excitement as she went.

"It's from my mom!" Toph said astonished, "She says she wants to talk to me and it sounds like she finally understands the real me…it says here she wants to meet me tomorrow in the hotel she's staying at in the Inner Ring."

All the while during Toph's speech, though it looked as if he wasn't listening, Beat's mind was racing at an impressive speed, something didn't add up but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Shrugging he pushed the feeling onto the backburner letting it stew but not really concentrating on it at the moment before he smiled at the sound of happiness in Toph's voice.

Katara squealed lightly happy for the girl before Aang and Sokka chimed in with their congratulations as well before they turned to Beat, who had remained silent. Realizing they had stopped talking Beat looked up after a moment to notice they were waiting for him to say something.

"Ah, sorry I'm very happy for you Toph," Beat said with a smile.

Toph's grin almost faltered as she felt Beat's heartbeat fluctuate wildly for a moment it wasn't the same as lying nor was it the same as him telling the truth, to be honest she couldn't tell what it was and it confused her. Surely Beat was happy for her she could hear the sincerity in his voice but the way his heart had beat was puzzling. Deciding not to dwell on it too much lest she fall even further into confusion she thanked him and turned to Katara.

"Oh, oh we just have to have a Girl's Day today to get you ready for your Mom tomorrow!" Katara said happily as she grabbed Toph and dragged her out of the house despite her protests.

Beat, Sokka and Aang simply stared at the door that the girls had disappeared out of before laughing.

"Sokka is your sister like that a lot?" Beat asked as he glanced back at the door.

"No, actually, she's normally very level-headed," Sokka said a bit confused by his sister's behavior as well, "I'm guessing it has to do with the excitement she's feeling for Toph."

"Girls are weird," Aang said as he shook his head resigning himself to never understanding them.

Sometime later Beat, Aang, and Sokka were walking around the marketplace looking for a way to fritter away the day. After a while Beat yawned and said he was going to head back to the house to get some more sleep since he trained longer than usual today. After bidding farewell to his friends who wished him a good night, he turned down a side street and began his trek back to the Inner Ring.

On his way there he noticed a small tea shop and feeling a bit parched slipped a hand into his pocket, feeling at his money, he decided he could afford some tea and cakes. Stepping inside a bell jingled to announce his arrival to the staff which consisted of a portly looking old man with gray hair and a matching beard sporting an apron, the other was a young man looking to be around 16 or 17 who had short black hair and a large scar over his left eye that vaguely resembled a flame.

Sitting down Beat grabbed the menu and flipped it open before the younger of the two walked over.

"Hello my name is Lee, welcome to the Jasmine Dragon," Lee said, "May I take your order?"

Beat set the menu down and nodded before he looked up at Lee.

"Yeah can I have some jasmine tea and a plate of tea cakes?"

"Anything else for you today sir?" Lee asked as he jotted down the order.

"No I'm good with that thanks." Beat responded before Lee nodded and headed off to give the order to Mushi.

As his meal was being prepared Beat glanced around the shop, it was plain looking and a bit small, and other than himself there was no one there. Then again, considering it was near 6pm he wasn't all that surprised. Casting his gaze over at Mushi he noticed the old man was smiling softly as he brewed the tea he seemed to genuinely enjoy his craft and Beat felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips before he looked over at Lee.

The moment he saw Lee he knew something was off about him. It was something about how he carried himself, his movements were smooth and graceful, much more so than a common tea server should be in possession of. Beat mused for a moment and was taken off guard as the old man placed his tea and cakes down in front of him without Beat having known he had left his station.

_"This is wrong,_" Beat thought as he grabbed a cake and ate it,_ "People don't just move like that._"

As Beat pondered on this he grabbed his cup and raised it towards his lips just as someone burst into the teahouse yelling. The sudden noise caused Beat to jump and spill his tea all over the front of his shirt and coat. Sighing, softly he set the cup down and stood up before looking back at the man who had two hook swords and was currently accusing Lee and Mushi of being Fire Benders.

_"Hmm that would explain their graceful movements_," Beat mused to himself as he watched the young man become increasingly more aggressive. Sighing, Beat placed his headphones in his ears fully intending to simply let the Dai Li he had seen patrolling the streets take care of it. As he made his way by he noticed a small child drop her ball only for it to roll towards the feuding men. Both Lee and the other young man, who's name was revealed to be Jet, were moments away from blows. The child, oblivious to the goings on, ran after her ball just as Jet swung his swords and Lee leapt back away from the blow. So immersed in his rage though Jet had swung his swords too hard and they were heading straight for the young girl's neck. The scream of the child's mother brought Beat's attention back to the fight and reacting so quickly many people lost sight of him he dove at the child scooping her up. Using his forward momentum he spun around the swords arc and landed a few feet forward, cradling the child to his chest though his shirt and jacket were shredded from the near miss.

"Aw dammit, I liked this coat," Beat moaned as both Jet and Lee looked over the sudden movement having snapped them out of their single minded rage. Jet paled as he realized what had nearly happened and looked at the strange man in front of him.

"Are you Fire Nation just like these two!?" Jet demanded the old streak of paranoia robbing him of the ability to think straight as he advanced on Beat. Beat himself wasn't paying attention anymore as the child's mother had rushed over to grab her daughter and began to thank Beat profusely, who waved his hand nonchalantly while blushing a bit not used to such praise.

"I'm talking to you Fire Nation scum!!" Jet roared enraged even further at being ignored as Beat waved goodbye to the mother and daughter. After they left he spun around and launched his foot into Jet's face without warning the impact knocking him back in a shower of blood and broken teeth. Jet hit the ground and slid to a stop some 10 feet back clutching his face in pain. Storming after him Beat grabbed his collar and swung him to his feet without any visible effort slamming him into a wall.

"You stupid little asshole," Beat hissed out before he pulled Jet forward and slammed him into the wall again a sharp crack echoing around the plaza as the wall snapped and crumbled slightly from the pressure Beat was putting on Jet.

"In your idiotic rage against those two men you nearly killed a child, a young girl no less," Beat said his voice dripping with hatred as he lifted Jet off his feet blood starting to pool on said mans shirt. "Your lucky I'm in a good mood or I'd feed you your fucking swords!"

A faint hissing sound caught Beats attention and he threw Jet to the side before spinning around and plucking something out of the air his entire arm flying back to dissipate the kinetic energy. Looking at his hand he saw an arrow between his middle and forefinger. Discarding the projectile he turned back to Jet only to find him missing, a bloody trailing leading off into the crowded plaza.

"FUCK!!" Beat roared before the faint sound of a clearing throat caught his attention, looking over his shoulder he spotted Mushi and Lee.

"My nephew and I would like to offer our most sincere thanks to you stranger." Mushi said as he bowed to Beat who felt his cheeks tinge pink with embarrassment. "If it wasn't for you that young man may have hurt myself or my nephew not to mention that young girl."

"Ah its ok sir I have a thing against hurting children and girls," Beat said as he scratched the back of his head grinning softly, " Besides I was already a bit mad at him because when he came in he made me spill my tea."

Mushi nodded solemnly knowing the sadness of a lost cup of tea.

"Well as thanks you are always welcome at my shop and your next cup of tea will be on the house," Mushi said with another bow which Lee mimicked stiffly his eyes never leaving the snow haired man before him.

"Ah, thank you, are very kind Mr.…" Beat said as he bowed in return a bit awkwardly since he wasn't quite used to it yet.

"Oh, how rude of me, my name is Mushi and of course you already met my nephew Lee"

"Right well Mr. Mushi I'll have to take you up on that sometime" Beat replied before he shivered slightly at the chilling air. "But for now I'm going to head home and get some clothes on that aren't so…ventilated," Beat mused as he looked down at his ruined coat and shirt forlornly.

Mushi gave a belly laugh and nodded, "Good night young man,"

"Ah you can call me Beat"

"Beat?" Mushi said with a quirked eyebrow, "That's a strange name"

"Heh yeah lets just say I'm from way out of town anyway I'll see you some other time" Beat said as he spun on his heel and started back towards the house.

"Such a nice young man" Mushi said as he watched Beat walk away.

"He's strange Uncle," Lee replied watching Beat go with a suspicious eye, "The way he moved was unlike anything I've seen before"

"Yes it was strange, but he saved us and that child Zuko," Mushi said as he stepped into the shop with Zuko right behind.

"Be that as it may we need to be careful around him Uncle" Zuko said

"If you say so nephew"

**

* * *

Scene Break: 3 blocks away**

* * *

Jet staggered into the small home he, Longshot and Smellerbee were sharing his hand cupped under his chin as blood dribbled down from his mouth and nose. Longshot and Smellerbee burst in a moment later, the latter immediately falling to her knees and grabbing a rag. She then started to wipe gently at the blood on his face concern painting her own while Longshot looked on stonily.

"My god Jet, that boy got you good," Smellerbee said as she saw the few missing teeth and busted lip, his nose still dripping a bit of blood.

"It was a lucky shot," Jet slurred out. The lose of his teeth was messing with his speech. He winced slightly as his face throbbed a bit.

"Sure if you say so Jet," Smellerbee said as she finished cleaning him up and stemmed the flow of blood from his nose, "Lucky or not you need to rest for a couple days and let yourself heal."

"Rrrrgh…fine," Jet said growling in frustration at how easily he was beaten by that strange kid.

**

* * *

Scene Break: Same time on top of a warehouse in the plaza**

* * *

Two Dai Li agents watched as the snow haired young man left the plaza before they followed him leaping from roof to roof, keeping him in their sights.

"I've never seen anyone move like that boy have you?" One Dai Li murmured. The other Dai Li shook his head in the negative as they followed him for a few minutes before he turned into the high class district of Ba Sing Se.

"Wait a moment, I remember something that came in on a report a few days ago from that assignment to keep an eye on the Avatar's group" The Dai Li who had spoken before said.

"Oh yeah?" responded the other Dai Li as they leapt onto the ground and began tailing the youth using the shadows to their advantage.

"Yeah apparently he's part of the Avatar's traveling group."

"Huh…well if he is he certainly isn't a Bender and I've never seen that sort of combat from a warrior before."

"Yeah…think we should report this to Long Feng?"

"Without a doubt."

Watching as Beat turned towards the Avatar's home they nodded to each other and slipped deeper into the shadows. The growing night seeming to swallow the two agents.

**

* * *

Scene Break: With Toph and Katara**

* * *

As Toph and Katara walked home from their Girl's Day, they talked to each other about nothing important, simply one of those conversations that people have when there's nothing to talk about.

"So what do you think about Beat?" Toph asked all of a sudden catching Katara off guard at the abrupt change of topic.

"W-well he's a sweet guy, though a bit childish at times, but he's definitely strong yet he's not overconfident about it really," Katara said before looking over at Toph suspiciously. "Why the sudden question Toph?"

"What, oh uhm no reason I just wanted to know what you thought about him." Toph said stumbling a bit causing to Katara smile softly as she recognized the real reason for asking.

"If you say so Toph," Katara said as they turned the corner and slammed into someone all three falling flat on their asses.

"Ah I'm so sorry about-Katara…Toph?" a voice said as they looked up to see it was Beat…shirtless and splattered with blood

"What happened!?!" Katara said as she scrambled over water already covering her hands to heal him before he raised a hand.

"Whoa, whoa there Katara, its not my blood" Beat said as he raised his hands in a placating manner.

Katara sighed and dispelled the water rubbing her forehead softly," Dammit Beat what did you," Katara started before she waved her hands, "You know what no I don't wanna know just…stop it" with that she stalked off into the house fuming leaving Beat and Toph alone.

Beat turned back around to look at Toph and felt himself flush deeply, she looked incredible. Her hair was pulled back revealing her face light blue eye shadow accented her pale lavender eyes. Her cheeks were covered with a small amount of blush while her lips were a rich ruby color.

Toph was really confused, after Katara left she felt Beat turn and look at her. After a moment though she felt his heart start to beat wildly.

"Beat are you ok?" Toph asked, "I can feel your heart beating really fast,"

"I uh…it's uhm…huh?" Beat stammered as he continued to stare at Toph whom had stood up.

"O-ok…well uhm goodnight Beat" Toph said as she skirted around him and headed inside leaving Beat there. He came in a bit later, promptly fall onto his bedroll, and avoid any questions thrown his way.

**

* * *

The Next Morning**

* * *

As Toph got ready to leave her mind was whirling with everything that might happen. She was excited that her mother seemed ready to accept the real her, but was scared that she might not approve of the actions she took in the past few weeks. She looked around the house at the almost empty bedrolls, the only one still occupied being Beat's who wasn't feeling well. Aang, Sokka, and Katara where already out searching for Appa again today. Though they had offered to go with Toph she refused, saying she should see her mother alone. With one final once over making sure she had everything she needed, she turned on her heel and headed out of the house to go meet with her mother.

Waiting a few moments after she left, Beat sat up and dressed quickly. He had had a nagging suspicion in the back of his mind for a while now and it was time to pay it some attention. Slipping out of the house Beat quickly raced up a pile of crates onto the roof of the house next to theirs. Then looked around before he spotted Toph making her way through the city streets of Ba Sing Se. Rolling his neck and shoulders to loosen up Beat took a few steps back and rushed forward bounding from roof to roof. He made sure to keep Toph in sight but kept far enough back so his footsteps would be lost among the countless others she was feeling.  
**  


* * *

Scene Break: With Aang, Katara, and Sokka**

* * *

As the three companions combed the city for clues, they came upon a cluster of people in the marketplace talking loudly about a disturbance that happened the night before.

"…well I heard it was a young man with white hair that saved the girl"

"That's what I heard too, I hear he saved her and trounced that boy with the hook swords before catching an arrow mid-flight."

The three looked at each other before sighing and shaking their heads, looks like Beat couldn't even go a day without getting into some kind of trouble.

Katara rubbed her chin softly the conversation cycling through her head again. Something about the phrase 'boy with hook swords' was trying to kick off something in her mind but she just couldn't remember.

"Are you sure we should have let Toph go on her own?" Aang said breaking Katara out of her thoughts.

"I'm sure she'll be fine Aang," Katara said as she pasted up another poster of Appa.

"Yeah," Sokka said, "Toph is tough and I'm sure her mom will be understanding"

"Yeah I know but I can't help but worry" Aang said.

"Don't worry Aang she'll be fine I'm sure of it" Katara said softly

"I guess your right Katara"

**

* * *

Scene Break: Rooftops of Ba Sing Se**

* * *

As Beat landed on the building across the street from the hotel Toph went into he waited a moment before slipping down the building. He landed as softly as he could before he crept on up to the side of the building and peeked into the window. Beat grimaced as inside he saw the hotel was rather rundown, cobwebs hung from the ceiling, it looked abandoned. Turning his head he noticed that even though they were still in the Inner Ring the people around looked like trouble. Grunting softly Beat looked back inside and saw Toph was being lead into a back room but he could see she was on edge now. Slipping around the side Beat clambered up onto the fence lining the building and peered into the backroom just in time to see a steel box drop from the ceiling and encase Toph before a half dozen Dai Le dropped from the shadows as well. Beat snarled and opened the window to slip inside.  
**  


* * *

Scene Change: Inside the box with Toph**

* * *

Toph slammed her hands against the steel walls of the box in anger as she felt the six people outside surround her before suddenly a voice rang from outside.

"Toph Bei Fong you and your friends have been judged hazardous by the Dai Li, as such you shall be imprisoned pending trial." the voice said, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Let me out of this fucking box and I'll show you what I think!!!" Toph roared as she slammed against the box with renewed vigor her mind spinning as she started to grow more frantic with every failed attempt to escape.

"Very well then," the voice said before she felt the box being lifted and she fell to the floor and cupped her face in her hands.

Suddenly the box lurched and the front side fell to the floor causing Toph to tumble around before the back end hit the ground with a thud. She heard the people outside crying out and the telltale sounds of Earthbending before she felt and heard something land on top of the box with a bang.

"I believe you have something very important to me in here" a new voice said which she immediately recognized as Beat.

"Beat is that you!!?" Toph yelled, hope swelling in her chest along with that warm fluttering feeling. Though this time she didn't push it away but reveled in it instead.

"In the flesh Toph, can you get out of there?" Beat asked

"It's solid metal I can't bend that!" Toph said as she felt Beat leave all of a sudden a rock slamming into the top of the box.

"Metal is Earth Toph!!" Beat cried out his voice bouncing around as he dodged the numerous pieces of Earth being sent his way. "Its just purified, BEND IT I KNOW YOU CAN!!"

Toph nodded to herself and placed her hands against the cool surface of the metal and felt around. She could feel the bits of Earth inside the metal and she willed them to move. Slowly, she could feel them budge as her fingers sank into the metal a bit before she pushed harder and, with a shriek of metal and a grunt of effort, she peeled the door away and stepped outside only to see Beat pinned against the wall with Earth. A Dai Li agent was standing before him sneering softly.

"We have orders for you as well," He said, " You will be given an option, you can teach the Dai Li your strange fighting styles and we shall make sure you live the rest of your life in comfort or…we will simply kill you here and now."

"Oh sure and after I teach you all my secrets why don't you BITE MY LEFT ONE!!!" Beat snarled as he strained against the earth pinning him to the wall.

"Very well then," The Dai Li said as he shifted slightly, "Goodbye Mr. Shepard!" thrusting his hands forward a spike of Earth racing for Beat's heart just as Toph broke the bindings keeping him held to the wall. As he dropped he spun to the right the spike passing through his shirt ripping it off him as he fell to the ground with a thud.

"DAMMIT CAN I NOT KEEP MY SHIRT FOR MORE THAN 10 MINUTES IN THIS GOD DAMN CITY OR WHAT!?!" Beat roared as he leapt forward and drove his knee into the stomach of the closest Dai Li, who bent over gasping, only to fly back as Beat slammed the heel of his hand into his nose causing it to crack and break under the strain. Blood flying from his nose as he crumpled to the ground.

Flipping over to Toph he pulled out his flask in mid air and drained it in one large gulp before landing with a stagger. He then discarded the flask where it clattered to the ground where it was crushed by a block of Earth a Dai Li had thrown at Toph.

Swaying and staggering around Beat started to tear through the Dai Li agents like paper while Toph took on her fair share as well. Together they quickly dispatched the Dai Li, their movements flowing together in a brutal dance before it came to a close with Beat throwing a Dai Li which Toph intercepted mid-flight with a large boulder.

Beat bent over panting and sweating numerous shallow cuts littering his body from near misses. After a moment he stood back up and walked over to a pile of rocks shifting through the rubble and pulled out his flask, it was clearly crushed beyond repair.

"Fuck" Beat swore tossing it away before he turned to Toph who was encasing the Dai Li in earth. He then trotted over to the Dai Li who had spoken to him before he rifled through the Dai Li's pockets before pulling out a scroll.

"Oi Toph I think I may have found something," Beat said as Toph encased the Dai Li in front of her before she made her way over to him.

"What is it?" She asked as she came to a stop beside him.

"Looks like orders…from someone named Long Feng" Beat read on before he slipped it into his pocket, "It seems you were to be transported to somewhere called Lake Laogai"

Toph arched a brow and looked confused, "Wait isn't that just outside the city over the ridge?"

"Yeah that's what I've heard" Beat said as he scratched his chin," You know if this guy wants us so bad I wouldn't put it past him to use hostages"

"You mean like me for you guys" Toph said trailing off.

"Or Appa for Aang!" Beat finished as he turned to Toph, "We need to get to the others and show them what we've found!" As Beat made his way past Toph she reached out and grabbed his pant leg softly. Looking back he saw that Toph was looking away her face a light pink before she looked up at him.

"I wanted to thank you Beat" Toph said none of the usual bravado or confidence in her voice as she wrapped her arms around herself protectively, "You always seem to be there to save me when I need help"

"Ah Toph its nothing rea-" Beat started before Toph raised up a hand causing him to fall silent.

"No, please let me finish" Toph said before she drew a shaky breath and moved closer to him wrapping her arms around his chest her face buried in his neck.

"You're always there for me…and I know we haven't known each other that long but I can't continue to deny what it is I've been feeling for the past few days" Toph said shakily.

Beat looked down at her a bit shocked, this was a Toph that he had never seen before. Sure he was always aware she was a girl, of course, but she was always so confident and self-assured. The girl in front of him now was scared and unsure of herself.

"I love you Beat," Toph whispered before pushing herself up onto her toes and pressing her lips against Beat's.

Beat's mind was reeling, he had no idea what to do. He could vaguely feel Toph pull back and looked down into her eyes at that moment. A light pink blush was dusting her cheeks and her were eyes full of expectancy as she nibbled her bottom lip.

Beat smiled lightly before cupping her cheek with his hand, which she immediately leaned into, "Toph, you have no idea how that makes me feel," he paused for a moment, "you are an extremely attractive woman, and I have been finding myself feeling something I've never felt before when I'm around you."

Toph felt her heart beat faster and faster as Beat spoke her eyes shining with happy tears she refused to let fall.

"And now I know, it's love," Beat whispered to her softly.

Leaning in, he wrapped his arms around her waist firmly as he pulled her in for a deep kiss.

"I love you Toph," he spoke against her lips. Toph's eyes fluttering closed as she wrapped her arms up around his neck. The tears she had been holding back now running down her face while she returned his kiss. Soft light from the setting sun filtered in through the windows of the old hotel, gently illuminating the young lovers with it's touch.

* * *

AN

So as you've noticed i sped up the pairing a bit more than i wanted but i have a few plans that are made easier if these two are together. I've also made Toph seem a bit more vulnerable during her confession I did this because confessing something like that isn't easy your putting a lot out there so your completely out in unfamiliar territory. _**Remember to vote in the poll and i'll be back with the next chapter in a week or so once i've closed the poll. Remember though that the type of bending he gets will effect the path of the story i take with him so choose wisely also depending on what element he receives will also change how quick i teach it too him**_. I'd also like to thank my beta Ibinx Rae who helped me with my horribly crappy romance scene which she said made her want to slap me. Apparently i need to work on that ///

Ja

Soulnin


	5. The Fatal Beat and Family Ties

Man this one took awhile to get out, I had a bot of trouble figuring out where to go from when i left off. anyway this one is a bit shorter than i normally make them but the next one is gonna be longer for sure. I closed the poll as well and it turned out to be Earth...though because I lack the spine to say no to my girlfriend its going to be Air. So blame her if your element didn't win. Anyway on with the story

* * *

**Drunken Bender Ch. 5**

* * *

  
As Toph and Beat shared their tender moment, Aang and the others were busy looking for Appa in the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se.

As Aang pasted up another poster, he wiped his forehead and sighed before he turned to look at Sokka and Katara.

"You guys this isn't getting us anywhere" Aang said as he set down his paste brush.

"This is all we can do though Aang." Katara said as she put up another poster before turning to look at him.

"It just doesn't seem like enough though," Aang said sadly as he turned to look forlornly at the poster of Appa.

Katara frowned gently and walked over before embracing Aang, "We'll find him Aang I swear," Katara said as she held Aang close for a moment.

Suddenly a voice rang out from above them shattering their tender moment.

"Aww so cute…and me without my camer-OW!"

Looking up they saw Beat leap down off of the roof of the warehouse beside them carrying a slightly blushing Toph bridal style. He landed with a soft thud and set her down before rubbing his head and glaring at Toph.

"Why do you always got to hit me Toph?" Beat said.

"Why do you always have to be such an ass?" Toph shot back.

"You know you love my ass" Beat said slyly causing Toph to sputter and turn red.

"Welcome back Toph how did the meeting with your Mom go?" Katara asked.

Beat scratched his chin as Toph turned to face Katara before a dark look passed over her face.

"It was a trap," Toph hissed out, "The Dai Li ambushed me and stuffed me inside a steel box."

"But if that's true how are you here right now?" Sokka asked finally adding to the conversation.

"Ah that would be my doing," Beat said as he rolled his shoulders, "I followed her and saw what happened and helped her escape…though the fact that she tore that box to shreds with her bare hands leads me to believe she may have done fine on her own."

"Wow Toph you can Bend Metal now?" Aang said with awe in his voice.

"Yup and after we beat up the Dai Li we found a scroll and…."Toph trailed off and blushed slightly as memories of what Beat and Toph did after the fight rolled to the forefront of her mind.

"And what?" Katara asked confused missing the mischievous grin spreading over Beat's face.

"And this," Beat said before he wrapped an arm around Toph's waist, spun her to face him, and kissed her passionately.

Aang, Sokka, and Katara's jaws hit the floor with a comical thud while Momo simply fainted dead away. The two kissed for a few more moments before Beat broke the kiss and Toph leaned against his chest flushed crimson and panting. She hated it when he did that it made her knees feel like rubber and yet she never stopped him.

"B-bastard," Toph moaned and slapped his chest weakly as she tried to regain her bearings.

"Y-y-you….a-a-and y-you!?" Sokka stammered out while pointing at them while Aang tried to resuscitate his lemur friend.

Katara suddenly squealed and embraced the two of them. "I'm so happy for you two!!" She gushed and squeezed them tightly before letting them go and sniffling. "You're so cute together," She mumbled as she teared up.

Toph and Beat both took a small step back away from Katara as she waxed on about their relationship before a shout broke them from their revelry. Looking to the end of the alleyway they saw a boy holding a pair of hookswords, his face was rather swollen and he had murder in his eyes.

"You!!" He said with a slight slur as he pointed at Beat.

"Jet!" Katara hissed out all traces of happiness gone from her face. Beat laid a hand on her shoulder before he stepped past her and took a few steps away from his friends.

"I see your face is healing nicely," Beat said coolly as he eyed Jet's swollen cheeks.

"Phuck you," Jet slurred, "I've been hoping to find you again after what you did to me!"

"Oh wow, Beat did you do that to him?" Sokka asked as he eyed Jet's face wincing slightly as he saw a bit of dried blood.

"It's a long story but the short version is, yes I did." Beat said as he eyed Jet warily

"Your damn right you did!," Jet said as he started forward, "I'm on to you Fire Nation scum, you didn't want me selling out your two buddies back at the tea shop so you tried to silence me!!"

"Two friends?" Aang said confused as he looked over at Beat who waved it off

"I'll explain the whole story later I promise," Beat said with a grin at Aang.

"But I will not be silenced," Jet said, "And now…I'm going to kill you Fire Nation!!"

Aang and company started forward to stop him but Beat threw out an arm to stop them.

"No…if he wants me so badly he can have me." Beat said quietly as he eyed Jet.

"You don't really mean to let him KILL you do you Beat!?" Katara said in shock.

"Of course not…like anything worth getting in life you have to work for it," Beat said before looking back at Jet, "If you wish me dead child you are welcome to try it," Beat started to sway and stagger slightly but Jet wasn't pulled in by the display knowing full well what Beat was capable of he and the Suiken user began to circle each other warily.

Jet moved first darting forward and slashing at Beat's waist. Beat bent backwards dodging the blow and kicked out with his right leg catching Jet in the stomach. Jet rolled back with the impact and sprang to his feet grimacing as he rubbed his stomach lightly while Beat continued to sway and stagger drunkenly.

"Dammit stop acting like a drunken fool and fight me like a man!!" Jet roared pointing his swords at Beat who paused and looked up at him.

"Be careful of what you ask of me boy…you might just get it."

"I'm going to kill you!!" Jet roared again and charged forward launching a barrage of blows with his swords. Beat dodged and moved as quickly as he could but he still sustained numerous shallow cuts.

After a few moments of frantic dodging Beat leapt back patting himself down to check for injuries before glaring over at Jet.

"Boy you're nine kinds of crazy" Beat said as he frowned down as his third ruined shirt in the course of 24 hours.

"FIGHT ME DAMMIT!!!" Jet roared as he brandished his swords at Beat.

"If you don't stop now I won't be held responsible for your survival stupid boy."

Aang and the others stiffened at what Beat said.

"Your not really going to kill him are you Beat?" Katara whispered as Aang and Sokka looked at him a bit put off.

"If I have to in order stop him?" Beat said, "Then yes I will without a doubt."

Toph remained silently though the rest looked slightly unsettled and moved back to give the two boys some room.

The two boys circled each other warily Beat had abandoned his swaying and was instead eyeing Jet carefully. Jet suddenly swung out with his sword and Beat twisted around it bringing his elbow around and slamming it into the back of Jet's skull with a dull thud. Jet stumbled forward cursing softly as he brought a hand back and rubbed his head before leaping at Beat bringing his swords to bear on the young martial artist.

Using the flat of his hand Beat deflected one sword to the side and dodged the other before grabbing Jet by the face. Sweeping Jet's feet out from under him he powered his head down to the ground with a crunch. Using Jet's face as a pivot he front flipped over him and got some distance from Jet who was clutching his face in pain.

Jet stumbled to his feet his nosing dripping a bit of blood.

"Ah dammit my nose!" Jet swore as he touched it gingerly. "I'll kill you for sure Fire Nation scum!!"

"Why does he keep calling Beat Fire Nation?" Sokka whispered to Aang who shrugged.

Beat took a few steps back his heel striking something on the ground. Glancing down he saw a length of pipe that had rusted away from the plumbing system of the old warehouse. Rolling out of the way of another swipe of Jet's swords he palmed the pipe and twirled it about before snapping it out catching Jet in the stomach.

"If you want to fight with weapons I'll be happy to oblige you" Beat said.

It was fast and furious from that point on the clang of metal against metal rang out over and over again as the two fought. As Beat brought the pipe to bear against Jet's swords it suddenly shattered, the old metal unable to handle the stress. Beat swore and leapt back, blood dripping to the ground as shards of metal had embedded themselves in the flesh of his hands. Jet smirked insanely his mind clearly having snapped at some point.

"After I kill you I'm going to kill your friends next," Jet said an insane gleam in his eye as he looked over Toph and Katara. "Though I may take my time with the women!"

Toph and Katara shrank back slightly, it seemed Jet had clearly gone insane and even though he knew most of the people present he was failing to recognize them.

Beat's eyes hardened further as he stood up and tossed away his coat before cracking his neck as he looked at the ground.

"It seems then that you leave me with no choice," Beat said his voice lacking all emotion before his head snapped up and he shot forward at Jet.

Dodging around the swords, he caught Jet in the side of the head with a heavy right hook followed up by a brutal rising knee to the face. Jet staggered slightly as his nose shattered completely under the force before a vicious axe kick slammed him to the floor. As he tried to push himself up a foot slammed down on his back pushing him back down.

Beat roared angrily before pushing off Jet's back to jump into the air. Flipping around as he came back down he drove his knee into the back of Jet's neck. A loud cracking snap shot through the alleyway as blood flew from Jet's nose and mouth before twitched slightly and his eyes rolled back into his head while Beat stood up slowly.

Aang and company stood there in shock, though they had seen what had happened their brains were failing to process it. Katara screamed and ran forward pushing Beat aside water already around her hands. Beat stepped back a sad look on his face as he watched Katara futilely try to heal Jet.

Katara's hands dropped after a few moments before she whirled around and stalked over to Beat and slapped him. Beat's head turned to the side from the impact but he made no attempt to dodge or block the blow. She opened her mouth as if to say something but simply turned and stalked off seething. Aang and Sokka ran after her calling her name. Toph walked over to Beat and wrapped an arm around his and laid her head on his arm.

"Do think you may have gone too far?" She whispered softly.

"No…I really don't," Beat said softly, "But that doesn't mean I wanted to do it."

Toph leaned up on tiptoes and kissed his cheek softly. Beat smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her a soft squeeze.

"Go catch up to them I…need to do some thinking ok?"

"Alright but don't be too long, I'm sure your in plenty of trouble with the others,"

"Yeah…"  
**  


* * *

Scene Break and Time skip- 3 hours later at the House in the Upper Ring**  


* * *

  
Beat stepped into the house warily and as soon as he did he was bombarded with questions. He sighed and stuck his pinky in his ear and waited for them to fall silent.

"One at a time please, I know you all have things you want to ask me." Beat said after he managed to find a lull in their bombardment of questions.  
Katara glared at him and was the first to speak.

"Why did you kill Jet?" She asked a bit of venom in her voice.

"Because it was necessary," Beat answered, "If I hadn't stopped him he was going to kill everyone else…not to mention what he had planned for you and Toph."

Katara sputtered before looking away the answer seemingly having placated her for now. Aang spoke up next.

"Certainly there was another way in which to stop him?" Aang asked.

"You noticed I did give him numerous chances to stop throughout the fight and a couple warnings as well." Beat said as he scratched his neck.

Aang thought for a moment before he sighed, stood up and headed out onto the backyard porch. Beat looked at Toph and Sokka questioningly.

"Anything that you guys want to say to me?" Beat asked them only to have them both shake their heads.

"I understand why you did what you did Beat." Sokka said.

"Same here," Toph said, " While I don't approve of it I do understand."

After Toph spoke she perked up a bit and dug a hand into her pocket and pulled out another scroll.

"Hey Beat I found this on one of the Dai Li, I figured its just another copy of the orders we found on that other Dai Li but do you want to check?"

Beat took the scroll, opened it and scanned it before quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh really now?" Beat said amused before he rolled the scroll back up.

"What does it say?" Toph asked.

"Nothing important it's obviously a lie" Beat scoffed as he tossed the scroll over his shoulder where it soared out the window.

"OW!!" a voice cried from outside.

Beat cringed and looked over his shoulder to the window.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Beat mumbled as someone knocked at the door.

Beat got to his feet slowly and walked to the door before he opened it a crack. He promptly fell on his ass and scrambled away from the door in a panic.

"HOW CAN SHE BE HERE!!?!" Beat screamed as he hid behind Toph who was thoroughly confused by this point only for the door to swing open revealing a girl. Aang rushed back in just as the girl stepped into the house and tossed her hair over her shoulder. She was just a bit shorter than Beat was with brown hair and a dress that had slits running up the sides to her waist. As she stepped in she looked around before her gaze landed on Beat and she stomped forward and grabbed him by the collar. Hauling him to his feet she smiled before she crushed him to her chest and squealed happily.

"Hayden it is you!!" the girl said, "I've missed you so much!" She pulled his head back and looked his face over before she kissed him all over.

"Oh you've gotten so handsome since I last saw-" She was cut off as Toph ripped Beat from her grip and held him protectively while she shot the mysterious girl a glare.

"Hey back off he's mine!!" Toph hissed her hackles raised

"No Toph you don't understand she's my-" Beat began only for the mysterious girl to chime in.

"Oh he is, is he?" She said with a grin, "And who are you that would lay claim to my cute little baby brother?"

"BROTHER!?!" They all screamed before looking over at Beat who was scratching his head sheepishly.

"Uh yeah….meet my big sister Rae Shepard," Beat said.

* * *

A/N

Oh-ho bet you didn't see that coming didya!? Anyway next chapter i introduce Rae and the team head's to Lake Laogai to try and find Appa. Also i will NOT be explaining Rae's past my beta Ibinx Rae is writing a side story about her with my permission since hers will eventually tie in with mine. I will describe her better next chapter though and a few outstanding questions about Beat will be answered. Until next time though

Ja

Soulnin


	6. Rae's Rhythm

**Ok here's the next one sorry it took so long but I couldn't figure out where to go with my story for a bit but i was struck with sudden inspiration as i was in bed a few nights ago...I actually seem to do my best thinking when i'm about to fall asleep...hmm. Anyway i'm going completely AU next chapter it'll be ALL MINE! MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! *Cough hack choke* stupid evil laughter  
**  
**_Ibinx Rae: I've told you not to evil laugh like that Soul-nin_**  
**Soul-nin: SILENCE EDITOR MONKEY!!!*is brained by a large hammer"**

_**I'm a fox thank you very much...well since the illustrious writer is unconcious allow me to tell you that due to his enthusiam he didn't let me edit nor Beta this chapter so if you catch any errors I apologize. We're going to do all that stuff later but until then enjoy oh and We claim no ownership to Nickelback or any songs here on in.**_

**FINLAND!!**

_**SILENCE WRITER MONKEY!!!*whacks Soul again***_

* * *

**Drunken Bender Ch.6**

* * *

Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph simply stared slack-jawed between the two people in front of them. Beat was starting to fidget under the scrutiny but his sister was completely oblivious as she fawned over her little brother.

"Look how much you've grown Hayden," Rae squealed as she played with his hair a bit, "And your hair's so long and soft, you've been conditioning it like I told you right?"

Beat meanwhile was grumbling softly as his sister showered him with fraternal affection before a question from Sokka caught his attention.

"Hey Beat I have a question." Sokka mused as he looked between the two siblings.

"Well I have an answer," Beat said with a soft smile.

"Oh ha ha," Sokka said, "Anyway you said she's your sister right?"

"Yeah what of it?"

"Well are you biologically related or…?" Sokka said trailing off as Beat and Rae looked at each other confused.

"We're related by blood," They chorused.

"Ok so then why is your hair color so radically different from hers?" Sokka asked causing Katara, and Aang to look at them as well. Toph on the other hand just listened intently.

The siblings paused and looked at each other again before Rae spoke up.

"Yeah Beat I was curious about that myself haven't I told you how dangerous hair dyes are?" Rae scolded.

"What are you high!?" Beat shot back before he grabbed a lock of hair and examined it, "What the hell…it's….white?!?"

"Of course its white its been white since you got here Beat." Aang said Katara and Sokka nodded an affirmative.

"B-b-but…my hair was brown!!" Beat said as he grabbed a different lock and looked at it slightly panicked.

Aang, Sokka, Katara and Toph simply stared at him while Rae giggled amusedly as Beat fell backwards and groaned.

"I bet it was that stupid dimensional jump that did this!" Beat groused, "It probably quick fried the melanin in my hair."

Toph chuckled as Beat bemoaned the lose of his hair color before looking over at Rae.

"So your Beat's sister huh?" Toph asked

Rae smiled brightly and nodded before grabbing her little brother and cuddling him. "Yes Hayden is my cute little baby brother," Rae said as she played with his hair more while Beat struggled to escape to no avail.

Beat twisted and grunted as he tried to pull free, "Ah get her off me she is annoying my head!!" He moaned but no one paid him any mind as they were asking Rae more questions.

"So tell us about yourself Rae." Katara said excited to know more about Beat's family.

Rae smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear before clearing her throat and cuddling Beat closer much to his annoyance.

"Well I'm 20 years old and as you know Beat's big sister, I'm 5'6 and I love to read and study." Rae said with a soft smile, "My measurements are-," She began absentmindedly before Beat yelled.

"OK LET ME STOP YOU THERE!!!" Beat roared as he wriggled in his sister's grip.

Rae frowned and bopped him lightly. "You know its rude to interrupt Hayden!" She admonished him

"Whatever I just don't want to know about my sisters titties thank you," Beat ground out as he finally wriggled free of his sister.

"I'll have you know my titties are firm and supple thank you very much!!" Rae shot back without thinking before she blushed and started pounding on Beat, "NOW LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME SAY!!" Rae shrieked as she pounded Beat into a crater leaving him swirly-eyed and twitching.

"Lookit the pretty birdies," Beat mumbled dazedly before Toph rushed over to check on him while Rae blushed embarrassed.

"A-anyway," Rae continued as she banished the blush from her face. "That's all you really need to know about me other than the fact that I adore my baby brother."

Beat sat up groaning before he shot Rae a venomous look and tackled her and the two began to roll around fighting. It soon degenerated into a rather cartoonish dust cloud rolling around the house as the two struggle for dominance. Suddenly, Beat came flying out of the cloud causing the four others to scatter while getting out of the way. He flew out the back window into the backyard where he impacted with a tree. Slumping to the ground with a grunt he was swirly-eyed once more. The other four looked back to where Rae was and she was completely unharmed other than a bit of frizzed hair. As she knocked the dust out of her dress nonchalantly she walked over to the back window with a soft smile.

"That's 2350 to 0 Beat don't give up though I'm sure you'll win one someday," Rae chirped happily before she turned back to a slack-jawed Aang and friends.

The others simply stared at her before she flushed lightly and fidgeted. "Wh-What?" She asked as Beat hobbled into the house and flopped onto his bedroll with a groan Toph by his side quickly.

"Y-you defeated Beat!" Sokka finally choked out as he managed to pick up his jaw.

"Well yes…I don't like to brag but though my younger brother is very strong he has yet to beat his big sister, isn't that right sweetie?" Rae said as she looked over at him.

"BITE ME RAE!!" Beat roared wincing as Toph rubbed some ointment on a scrap.

"Be careful dear brother remember what happened last time you said that to me," Rae said sweetly as Beat paled and shivered before falling silent.

Turning back to the three others she smiled again and stifled a yawn. "Come now it's late let us go to bed we can discuss more come the morning."

Though the others found sleep quickly we find the savior of the world sitting on the roof of the house looking up at the stars in contemplation. With a small grunt of effort another person climbed up onto the roof and plopped down next to Aang.

"What's on your mind Aang?" Beat asked softly as he looked up at the stars as well.

"I was just thinking," Aang answered as he looked over at Beat.

"What about?"

"All this…the quest I mean," Aang said as he leaned back on his hands, "I mean sometimes I wonder if it's really just going to be as easy as taking out the Fire Lord."

"Oh?"

"Yeah I mean sure if I beat the Fire Lord I stop the biggest threat but what if the next person just decides to pick up where he left off?"

Beat sighed and nodded softly as he took a deep breath before looking at Aang.

"Look I'm not one to be wise when needed…but where I come from there are plenty of people who are."

Puzzled Aang looked over at Beat wondering where he was going.

"What I mean is…"Beat trailed off before shaking his head and continuing. "Look in my world…there was a woman named Margret Mead and she said this."

As Beat looked over at Aang he saw that all hints of that prankster that was Beat was gone for the moment.

"Don't believe that a small group of dedicated people can't change the world. Indeed that's the only thing that ever has."

Aang stared at Beat for a moment before nodding and looked back up at the sky before he responded.

"You may not think yourself wise Beat but wisdom comes in many forms."

Beat grinned and looked back up at the stars for a while longer. Squinting softly he saw a few of them moved before he realized it was a group of fireflies dancing in the night sky. He smiled a bit as he watched the small creatures flutter around in the sky. He heard a soft sound and looked over his shoulder and saw Toph staggering around on the tiles awkwardly.

Smiling softly Beat stood up and walked over to her and grasped her hand.

"What's wrong Toph?" Beat asked as he guided her over back to where he was and plopped down pulling her down into his lap. Noticing Beat's absence Aang turned and saw Toph had climbed up but remained silent opting to observe the young couple.

Flushing tomato red before snuggling into his warmth as a chill wind blew over them she answered. "Nothing it was just a disorienting sight when I got up here it was like I was floating for a minute."

Beat looked confused before he realized that when Toph saw with her feet all she saw was the roof at first and nothing else. Making a noise of understanding Beat wrapped his arms around her waist and looked back up at the sky. As Toph listened to his heart beating underneath her left ear she thought of something.

"Hey Beat I was curious," She began looking up at him.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, all this time we've been traveling and we don't really know much about what your world was like."

Beat grinned softly looking down at Toph.

"So your curious as to what my world is like eh?" Receiving an affirming nod Beat sighed and looked back up at the sky. Aang remained silent but was curious as well.

"Well ok then what do you want to know?"

"Well…do you have family back there?"

Beat exploded into laughter much to Toph's shock and confusion before he calmed down and shook his head.

"Nah, my only family is asleep in the house beneath us."

"Ah…well…uhm…,"Toph struggled to think of something else but fell silent after a moment in embarrassment as she hadn't really thought of anything else.

"Tell you what, think of a few more things and you can ask later ok?" Beat said and Toph nodded a bit as Beat looked at the stars.

"What about friends?" Toph asked softly a moment later.

Beat sighed softly and a look of sadness fluttered across his face. "Yeah I had some really good ones…"

"Do you miss them?"

"Yeah I do…I grew up with most of them and its hard to think that I'll probably never see them again."

"Would you go back if you could?" Toph whispered as she pressed her face into his chest a bit harder. She heard his heartbeat pound away steadily in her ear before he answered.

"I'm not sure honestly…besides my friends there wasn't a lot to look forward to in my world so most likely no I wouldn't."

Toph nibbled her lip as she heard no change in his heartbeat and despite herself felt a bit of guilty pleasure at the fact he would stay with her.

"Really? I figured you'd really want to go back eventually." Toph said

"Well yeah normally I would but…there was something I heard in a song that I try to remember,"

"What's that?"

Beat smiled and opened his mouth and began to sing softly.

_My best friend gave me the best advice  
He said each day's a gift and not a given right  
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind  
And try to take the path less traveled by  
That first step you take is the longest stride_

Toph was taken aback slightly as Beats voice came out smooth and even and she listened closely as he continued. Aang arched a brow in surprise not expecting the prankster that is Beat to have such a rich singing voice.  
_  
If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late  
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?  
Would you live each moment like your last  
Leave old pictures in the past?  
Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?  
What if, what if, if today was your last day?_

_  
Against the grain should be a way of life  
What's worth the price is always worth the fight  
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try  
So live it like you're never living twice  
Don't take the free ride in your own life_

In the house below Sokka, Katara and Rae listened as well Beats voice flowing around them like quicksilver. As they listened each thought back to times passed but even then Beat continued.  
_  
If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late  
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?  
Would you live each moment like your last?  
Leave old pictures in the past?  
Donate every dime you had?_

_And would you call those friends you never see?  
Reminisce old memories?  
Would you forgive your enemies?  
And would you find that one you're dreaming of?  
Swear up and down to God above  
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?_

In the palace of the Earth King Azula stood on the balcony of her room. Since she had infiltrated the castle in the guise of a Kiyoshi Warrior with Mai and Ty Lee and was scheming on how to proceed with her plan. As Beat's voice drifted into her ear's she felt something in her chest shift as if a trickle of doubt was trying to worm its way into her icy heart. She quickly squashed it down and, with a derisive snort, turned on her heel and headed inside to sleep.  
_  
If today was your last day  
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?  
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars  
Regardless of who you are_

_So do whatever it takes  
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life  
Let nothing stand in your way  
'Cause the hands of time are never on your side_

As Ty Lee did her stretches before bed she heard a voice drift in through her window. It was a song, and as she walked on her hands over to the open window she listened on. She felt her heart flutter at the masculine voice and wished she could meet the mysterious man who was singing.

_If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late  
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?  
Would you live each moment like your last?  
Leave old pictures in the past?  
Donate every dime you had?_

Mai was lying on her bed in the Palace flipping a knife around with the utmost precision. As she stared at the ceiling a haunting song slipped through her window carried by the winds. Almost losing focus she listened and found a truth in the song and it made her start to think. She began to wonder if maybe…

_And would you call those friends you never see?  
Reminisce old memories?  
Would you forgive your enemies?  
And would you find that one you're dreaming of  
Swear up and down to God above  
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?_

As Beat's voice faded into the night he looked down at Toph who was blushing heavily and trying to say something but Beat chimed in first.

"Many people take different things away from music Toph," Beat said, "I personally take that song to say that though memories are important. The past doesn't necessarily have to be important as the here and now is."

Looking over at Aang he smiled softly and continued.

"Though you may worry about the future Aang…nothing but anxiety and indecision will come of it at this point."

Aang made a affirming noise as he mulled over the words Beat spoke before Toph spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Toph said softly her cheeks flushed. "About the past I mean"

"I mean…though I will miss my friends forever…I have new ones and I have you. It's now that's important to me not yesterday or the day before." Beat said with a smile.

Toph felt herself flush again and pushed face into Beat's chest completely embarrassed yet happy by what he said.

The trio stayed there for a bit longer before they decided to call it a night and headed inside to sleep.

**

* * *

The Next Morning**

* * *

Beat sat up with a groan and yawned widely his hair poofed out around his head like an afro. He stood up slowly scratching his head before heading past his sleeping friends not noticing his sisters empty bedroll. As he walked to the restroom he mused about his strange dream about his sister showing up from nowhere. He snorted and shook his head at the ridiculousness of it all and stretched as he stopped before the bathroom door. Failing to notice the steam roiling out from under the door he opened it up sleepily and froze as he came face to face with the most gorgeous pair of breasts he'd ever seen. They were full and round and looked to be straddling the line between C and D. Beat felt a trickle of blood flow down his face before a shriek caught his attention and his eyes shot up the face of the girl he was ogling.

Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph all shot back into consciousness to the sight of Beat running around arms flailing while a towel clad and somehow chibified Rae was attached to his head gnawing on it viciously.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to see your breasts!!" Beat screamed as he rolled around on the floor while Rae bit at him harder.

"DIE PERVERTED BROTHER!!!" Rae snarled ignoring his pleas for mercy. Everyone simply stared as Rae continued to massacre her brother on the floor Toph suddenly realized what she said and jumped into the fray. As the others watched on in awe Toph started to pound on Beat as well and, with a resounding boom, Beat was shot out of the house on a chunk of earth. Rae hmphed and turned on her heel stalking back into the bathroom while Toph headed out the backdoor to work off some frustration.

Shaking his head Aang got to his feet and walked out the door to find Beat before he got himself in trouble somehow. After walking for a few blocks he found a crowd of people standing around a crater in the street. Trotting over he weaved through the crowd and found Beat lying in the middle of the crater moaning lowly.

Sliding down the crater to the bottom Aang crouched down and cleared his throat. Beat looked up at him blearily before letting his head thump back down.

"If you ever learn anything from me Aang learn this: Angry women are scary." Beat muttered as he got to his feet slowly.

"Mmm wiser words have never been spoken I suspect." Aang said as he helped Beat to his feet. The crowd, seeing that everything was ok, began to disperse as the two trudged out of the crater.

"So Aang I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What?"

"Well I was thinking about maybe trying to learn a bending style," Beat said as he popped his back and neck before sighing in relief.

Sensing where this was going Aang waited for Beat to continue.

"So I was wondering is there anyway I could learn Air Bending?" Beat said before looking at Aang, "Do you think one of the monks that taught you would teach me?"

Aang shook his head softly and Beat looked a bit crestfallen.

"Why not?"

"Well…because there are no more Air Benders besides me…when the war started 100 years ago the Fire Nation wiped out the Air Nomads," Aang explained sadly, "I'm the only one left."

"Ah…I see…well will you teach me?" Beat asked

Aang looked a bit taken aback at the prospect of teaching someone. He always knew that he would have to teach someone else to Air Bend eventually. Lest the Air Nomads really end once Aang passed away. Aang thought for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Ok I'll teach you but in exchange I want you to teach me that Drunken Fist"

Beat laughed and clapped Aang on the shoulder.

"Alright but we have to make sure Katara doesn't find out or else she'll skin the both of us alive." Beat said causing Aang to nod in agreement. As they stepped back into the house Rae was dressed and Toph was seething in the backyard. Scratching his head Beat headed off to try and explain what happened to his no doubt enraged girlfriend. Aang went over to Katara and explained the deal Beat and Aang had struck conveniently left out Beat's end of the deal.

Sometime later Toph and Beat revealed what they found out from the scrolls the Dai Li had on them. Aang was ecstatic to learn that they most likely knew where Appa was now. They decided to head to Lake Laogai as soon as possible and save Appa from Long Feng.  
**  


* * *

Scene Break: Lake Laogai Shoreline**

* * *

Beat, Toph, Aang, Katara and Sokka stood on the shore of Lake Laogai an ominous wind tousled Beat's hair. Toph laid her hand on the ground and smiled.

"There's a large complex of some kind under the Lake," She said before frowning, "It also seems to be teeming with guards and other personnel."

"So what do we do then?" Katara asked as she eyed the Lake warily hoping they wouldn't have to swim or something.

Beat grinned wickedly and cracked his knuckles as he shot a glance over at Aang who's own face had hardened.

"I would think that would be obvious Katara," Beat said as he stretched his legs while Toph and Aang opened the entrance to the cavernous complex with Earthbending.

"We go in, rescue Appa and kick the shit out of any Dai Li we find." Beat said a feral smile on his face.

"Ooo I like that plan," Toph said.

"Let's do it then," Aang said as he ran into the looming darkness of the tunnel his friends not far behind.

"This is gonna be fun~~" Beat said happily as he raced into the darkness.

Little did they know that the corruption of Ba Sing Se ran deeper and darker than they could even begin to fathom.

* * *

**A/N**  
_**Wow that one wasn't too bad was it? Well Soul is still out cold*looks over to Soul where she's drawn all over his face with marker* So i'll handle the end note as well, anyway like I said earlier he didn't let me edit but he also doesn't tell me EVERYTHING he's gonna do with the story so I can't tell you what he has planned. But knowing him like I do i can say it will most likely be really interesting and off the wall. So until next time and I promise to pester him into writing faster this next time as well since I like the story too*giggle***_

_**Ja~**_

_**Ibinx Rae ;3**_


	7. Quiet Before the Storm

Hey heres the new chapter and i said i'd put in profiles for Rae and Beat in this chapter so here they are without further ado(also sorry about the shortness of this chapter i got a bit fed up and rushed it out for you guys out of a mixture of guilt and frustration)

Name: Hayden "Beat" Shepard  
Age:14  
Height: 5 foot 7  
Eyes: Grey  
Hair: White  
Bending: None as of now  
Fighting Styles: Drunken Fist and a Freeform brawling style made from a hodge podge of different moves, and an as yet unrevealed third style

Name: Rae Shepard  
Age: 20  
Height: 5 foot 6  
Eyes: Violet  
Hair: Brown  
Bending: Revealed in this chapter  
Fighting Style: Capoeira

**

* * *

**

**Drunken Bender Ch.7**

* * *

Pain.

Darkness.

Those two things were his entire world. His whole body was throbbing and he couldn't see out of his left eye. He looked up and peered into darkness with his remaining working eye. He could see nothing, hear nothing but the steady dripping of water hitting the floor. He tried to move and gasped as pain the likes of which he had never felt slammed into him. He heard a clank and turned his head slowly ignoring the blaring protests of his neck. He could vaguely make out the shape of chains around his wrists. They were bolted into the stone floor of the room. He stood slowly his vision wavered as his body threatened to shutdown to protect itself. He limped forward where a thin beam of light shone through a crack in front of him. The chains scraped against the floor as he struggled forward and light illuminated a single steel grey eye. He reached for the light and realized it was filtering through the hinge of a heavy iron door. His vision blinked out for a moment and he stumbled back disoriented and slammed into the stone wall of the room. His back erupted in pain as he slid down into a sitting position the wall propping him up. He felt his chest tightening as his body started to shut down. He could feel his heartbeat in his chest.

_Thump-Thump…_

He could smell and taste copper and realized it wasn't water dripping but his own blood. Blackness encroached on the edge of his vision. His vital organs struggled to keep him alive as he lost more and more blood. He tipped to the side and landed with a wet squelching sound. His vision tunneled even more as he felt his mind go fuzzy.

Thump-Thump……

It was getting hard to concentrate when light burst into the room and a person was outlined in the doorway. It was a girl…she was screaming something but he couldn't quite make out what it was. She rushed forward and dropped to her knees next to him.

_Thump-Thump……_.

His eyes slid up to her face…she was crying and screaming still…but his ears weren't working anymore. Something wet hit his face and he saw she was crying. Her brunette hair disheveled and her dress had rips in it. Her violet eyes looked him over frantically as she tried to stem the blood flow.

I know her…, He thought as things started to lose focus, I wish I could remember from where.

_Thump-Thump…….._

His eyes slid closed as darkness encroached even further to claim him.

_Thump…………………_

**

* * *

5-hours Earlier**

* * *

Aang and the others rushed into the underground base of the Dai Li. Toph was leading the charge since she could see everywhere pretty much all at once. Suddenly she shot her arm out and screeched to a halt the others stopping as well.

"Hang on…" Toph said as she crouched and laid her palm on the ground so she could see better. "Something's not right here, there are way too many people down here…even for an organization as large as the Dai Li."  
"What do you mean Toph?" Katara asked a bit perplexed by the statement.

"I mean that there can't be this many Dai Li…if there was then you'd see them all over the place secrecy would be impossible" Toph replied as she stood up.

"Maybe they brought in reinforcements since you and Beat thrashed that squad sent to get you?" Sokka offered as he scratched his neck.

"Maybe…we need to be extra careful though this isn't going to be as easy as we thought." Beat muttered as he walked past Toph his hand falling on her shoulder. He gave it a soft squeeze to which Toph smiled softly and he continued on. Coming to a turn in the tunnel they stopped and pressed themselves against the wall.

Beat peeked out around the corner and swept his eyes around the hallway quickly.

"I see two guards at the end of the hallway, Toph can you see anything else?" Beat asked to which Toph shook her head.

"So they're the entrance guards then…hmm...stay here a moment yeah?" Beat said as he slipped around the corner and snuck up to the guards who were chatting away.

Once he got close enough he slammed the knife edge of his hand into the back of the neck of one guard knocking him out instantly. Before the man could fall though he used his body as a springboard and leapt off his back. Shaking off the initial shock the second guard shot a spire of earth at Beat who twisted in the air avoiding it by mere centimeters. As he fell he grabbed the man by the face and slammed his head into the ground knocking him out as well. Dusting his hands off he signaled for his friends to come forward then ,with some quick earth bending by Aang and Toph, they propped the guards up. Just in case any patrols came to check on the guards when they failed to check in. They'd be discovered unconscious without a doubt but it would buy them a couple extra seconds.

As they continued on deeper into the complex Beat skidded to a stop outside what looked to be a storage room. Cocking an eyebrow he stepped inside before sticking his head back out and calling to the others.

"Guys we may have a problem!" Beat called out to the others who looked back at him.

"What do you mean Beat?" Katara asked as she started over to him.

Ducking back inside for a moment he reappeared holding a very familiar looking helmet.

"But that's a Fire Nation helmet," Sokka said as he grabbed it turning it over in his hands to examine it.

"That's not the worst part though," Beat muttered as he tossed a helmet to Katara, Aang and Toph, who fumbled around before catching it.

"What does this mean?" Katara murmured as she fingered the helmet softly as she looked at it.

"I think this means there may be more down here than we thought…or the Earth Nation is stockpiling Fire Nation armor for some reason." Beat said as he stepped out of the room.

"Should we keep going?" Toph asked , "This is bigger than we thought it was."

"We need to find Appa!" Aang said resolutely as he tossed the helmet back into the room and turned on his heel. "We press on and damn the consequences!"

The others stood there for a moment before looking back at Beat who had a slight grin on his face.

"Damn when that kid's balls drop its like THUNDER!" He crowed before jogging off to catch up with Aang the others shaking their heads and following as well.

**

* * *

Scene Break: Back at the house with Rae**

* * *

Having opted to stay at the house in case Ju-Dee came by Rae was lounging around bored. Stifling a yawn she stretched out on her bedroll and pondered on what to do. After a bit of thinking she rolled to her feet and headed into the backyard. On her way she grabbed a small watering can she had left filled from earlier and stepped outside. Taking a deep breathe of fresh air she walked over to a small bed of flowers that had been grown by some previous tenants. She assumed they had been maintained by someone over time since they were still blooming nicely. She stopped short of the flowers and took another deep breathe inhaling the sweet scent of the blooms. She smiled softly before she tossed the watering can up into the air, lifting her arms out from her sides she caught the can and rolled it across her shoulders like one would a basketball. Catching the handle she let the water fall from the can to the flowers, but with a subtle motion from her other hand the water stretched out into a thin stream falling like a miniature rain storm over the flower bed. Smiling serenely as she bent the water she was unaware of another person in the backyard. Having seen her do all this new person cleared their throat startling Rae. Whipping around quickly Rae lost her grip on the can and by some strange stroke of luck it flew through the air and slammed into the persons face with a dull clang. Said person dropped like a sack of bricks and Rae rushed over worried as she checked on the young man who she noticed had a strange scar over his left eye.

**

* * *

Back Under Lake Laogai**

* * *

The group had traveled deep into the complex and still had yet to find Appa anywhere. Finally they came to a large iron door that seemed to lead to a large room. Toph quickly ripped the door open and they all rushed in only to find empty chains and a couple tufts of fur.

Aang stepped forward slowly and dropped to his knees and grabbed a small bit of what was obviously Appa's fur.

"We were too late…he was here but we missed him," Aang said forlornly.

"Aw, come on buddy cheer up! Maybe they just moved him to a different cell or-" Beat began but Aang rounded on him and cut him off.

"Enough! He's gone alright!? He was here, but we took too long and now he could be anywhere!" Aang yelled jabbing Beat in the chest.

Beat simply stared down at the younger boy and let him yell. He knew that Aang wasn't really mad at him but with himself. Aang let his hand drop and rubbed his face with his palm, he knew it wasn't Beat's fault either. He made the choice to follow Beat's plan it was just as much his fault as anyone's. Beat sighed and walked over to the cell wall and laid his hand on it his face blank as his thoughts raced. Toph scratched the back of her head as the silence stretched on before she cleared her throat.

"So, what do we do now?" Toph asked

"I don't know Toph." Aang replied as he looked back at the large empty chains.

"I know exactly what your going to do." A voice behind them answered.

Whipping around the companions looked behind them and saw that Azula and a tall, regal looking man with a long braid were standing in the room. The group tensed for battle but Azula raised a hand a sneer on her face.

"Don't bother we have you surrounded." Azula said haughtily as the walls beside the door slide down and a group of Dai Li and Fire Nation troops swarmed into the room.

"Fire Nation!?" Sokka said in shock as he pulled out his club.

"How did they get through the wall!?!" Katara cried out as she bent water around her from her canteen.

The regal looking man smiled, if one could call it that the action looked vile and treacherous on his face. He stepped forward and flipped his braid over his shoulder.

"Children I am Long Feng, Leader of the Dai Li." Long Feng began. "I congratulate you on getting this far into my complex but your adventure ends here and now."

"How could you betray the Earth King Long Feng!?" Toph growled out as she felt around trying to identify how many people were around them.

"Foolish girl," Azula hissed out as she crossed her arms. "The Earth King is dead!"

The companions froze as the news hit them like a sledgehammer to the gut. If the Earth King truly was dead…that means Ba Sing Se was all but lost.

"Y-You LIE!!" Aang roared as air swirled around his arms.

"Oh I do?" Azula said. "How then was I able to smuggle so many of my troops into the city so easily if he was not dead?"

Long Feng smirked as he eyed the group in front of him before his eyes came to rest on Beat who was leaning back against the wall his hands behind him. Long Feng eyed the boy for a moment with great interest, his abilities were powerful and he wanted them for himself.

"Here is what shall happen now." Azula said, "You will surrender to me, we will topple the last feeble resistance this city has to offer. Long Feng will assume command of the fallen Ba Sing Se in the name of the Fire Nation. Then I will take the Avatar back to my father and present him to him and become the new Fire Lord when his reign ends."

"King Long Feng." Long Feng mused. "I like it."

"Mind yourself worm you only get this position because I will it to be so." Azula spat at the man.

"Of course my princess I live to serve." Long Feng bowed to her.

Beat looked over the crowd around him with calculating eyes an idea was slowly forming in his mind but it all hinged on Toph. Moving his fingers slowly he began to rub gently at the wall, and looked at Toph out of the corner of his eye. Seeing her twitch he suppressed a grin and continued his actions.

Toph meanwhile was 'seeing' what Beat was doing, a smile twitched at her lips as she realized he was spelling out a message to her against the wall. As the movements stopped and the message came through Toph gave the smallest of nods and Beat waited for the troops to start closing in on the group. He rubbed one more word into the wall for Toph.

_NOW!!_

Toph slammed her heel into the ground and a group of mid-sized rocks flew up in front of Beat. With a flurry of punches Beat sent the rocks flying at the troops and knocked a few over causing them to hit their companions and knock even more people over.

"RUSH'EM!!" Beat roared and charged towards the downed enemies fist cocked back. Following suit Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph leapt into the fray and the fight was on.

**

* * *

Scene Break: Back at the House.**

* * *

Rae was fussing over the unconscious teen as she wrung her hands. She hoped she hadn't hurt him badly, after the blow to the head she had taken him inside and laid him on a bed roll. Just as she thought he may have some sort of concussion the teen groaned and opened his eyes.

"Oh thank goodness your alright." Rae sighed as she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

The teen flushed lightly as he looked at Rae but shook it off quickly and cleared his throat.

"Is this where I can find Beat?" He asked. " My name is L…Zuko and he helped me and my uncle a couple days ago and I wanted to thank him."

"Oh well that's sweet of you but he's not here right now but you can wait for him if you want." Rae said with a smile.

Zuko nodded and sat up rubbing the small lump on his forehead where the watering can struck him.

"Oh my that's going to bruise hang on let me get you some ice." Rae said before she got to her feet and hurried off to get some ice for him.

Coming back a moment later she handed Zuko a lump of ice wrapped in some clothe and he gladly accepted it and put it against the bump.

"So what is your name if you don't mind me asking?" Zuko asked.

"Ah how rude of me," Rae mumbled, "My brother must be rubbing off on me already. My name is Rae Shepard, Beat's big sister."

"Sister?" Zuko echoed, "I didn't know he had a sister."

Rae giggled and smoothed her dress a bit.

"I only just caught up with him recently." Rae explained and Zuko nodded in understanding.

**

* * *

Scene Break: With the others.**

* * *

Beat, Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph ran through the tunnels of the Dai Li complex like mad men. They had managed to fight their way out of the ambush but they had been hurt too badly to risk a prolonged fight. Especially against the entirety of the Dai Li and what ever Fire Nation troops Azula still had waiting in the wings. As they raced through the tunnels they heard the footsteps of people behind them growing louder, a sure sign that Long Feng and Azula were mustering every resource to try to keep them from escaping.

Coming to a stop at the entrance of the complex Toph and Aang ripped the door open with Earth Bending and they rushed through but Beat stayed inside. Noticing they were a person short Toph turned around and shouted.

"COME ON WE NEED TO MOVE!!" Toph screamed

"Its not going to work babe." Beat answered and pulled his mp3 player out and rubbed at the back of it.

"What do you mean Beat?" Toph asked urgency in her voice as the footsteps grew closer.  
Beat didn't answer and instead threw the mp3 player at Aang who caught it.

"Give it to my sister," Beat said as he turned around and walked back into the tunnel, "She'll know what to do with it."

"Wait Beat NO!!" Toph screamed as the tunnel slammed shut the Dai Li having got close enough to close it again.

Toph tried with all her might to pry the tunnel open again but it seemed that the Dai Li were holding it closed and her attempts were thwarted. Toph started to punch the rock her knuckles splitting open tears prickling at the corner of her eyes.

"You bastard." Toph choked out as she pounded away at the stone stopping after a moment Sokka laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Toph we need to go." Sokka said.

"NO!!" Toph screamed "What about Beat!? We have to get him out of there!"

"Toph you know we can't" Aang whispered. "All we can do is get help and save him as soon as we can."

She stood up and turned on her heel and ran back towards the house as fast as she could, snatching the player from Aang as she went, her desperation giving her feet wings. The others followed her as best they could but Toph burst through the door a good five minutes before the others did.

"Toph!?" Rae said shocked as she took in the girls ragged appearance cuts and gashes marring her normally flawless skin.

"Beat they got him you have to help he's in trouble we need to go-" Toph began as she started to tug on Rae's wrist.

"Toph calm down who has Beat?" Rae said trying to calm the distraught girl.

"Azula and the Dai Li have him she said they killed the Earth King and the complex was full of Fire Benders and Long Feng will rule Ba Sing Se for the Fire Nation and Beat stayed behind to buy us time but he gave us this!" Toph gushed before she pushed the mp3 player into Rae's hands.

Rae's heart clenched as she slowly turned the player over and saw four words that Beat had written with his blood.

_Time to Fight Sister_

Rae sighed softly and stood up just as the others burst in gasping for breath.

"THE AVATAR!!" Zuko yelled as he got to his feet.

"ZUKO!?" Aang said causing the others, minus Rae, to look over at Zuko.

Before anyone could start fighting Rae cleared her throat.

"Zuko you said you wanted to thank my brother correct?" Rae asked.

"Y-Yeah I did so?" Zuko replied eyeing the group warily.

"Well it seems my brother is in a bit of trouble would you please help us get him back?" Rae asked sweetly.

There was a moment of silence before everyone erupted at the same time trying to dissuade Rae and denying they would ever work with Zuko. Rae's icy voice though quiet cut through the rest like a knife through butter.

"This Azula has my baby brother." Rae said her tone even though anger bubbled just below the surface. "And from what Toph told me he's not in the best of condition. Now you can stand here arguing about it but I for one think we need all the help we can get to storm a palace."

The others fell silent and looked at each other before Aang sighed and walked over to Zuko. Standing in front of the slightly older boy he looked up at Zuko's face. After a couple tense moments Aang extended a hand and after another moments hesitation Zuko shook it.

"Good…now lets get my brother back." Rae said as she walked out the door, "And god help Azula if she's hurt him."

The others followed the busty girl quickly most feeling almost sorry for Azula and the wrath she was bringing upon herself.

* * *

**AN**

This chapter was a bitch to write i wrote it like 50 times and i swear i still don't really like how it turned out. Anyway enjoy the chapter but don't expect the next one for a while i need to sort through ideas for it still sorry. As always review and stuff leave me ideas if you want i may use them who knows. Also check out my new story that i put out The Titan of FLCL. it was because i got that idea out of my brain that i was able to finish this finally.

Ja

Soul Nin


	8. Update

__****Wow ok this took way to long to do and I am fiercely sorry about it. I am still alive to those of you still with me. I got a job shortly after I last updated my stories and have been too tired/sleepy/lazy to work on the chapters. I am still writing but when i get home from work i just want to kick my shoes off and relax I still get the occasional brain storm and i jot down a couple notes. I will keep writing but bear with me please if you would. I'm actually going to scrap Drunken Bender for now unfortunately for those who follow it. I looked back over what i had and realized that i could do a lot better so i'm going to rewrite it. I will leave the old one up for you to enjoy/reread what have you. I'm going to insert Beat into the world earlier and really cement him in as a part of the group instead of just as a passerby which is what he came off to me as when i reread it. As for Titan I am actually doing some heavy fore planning for it so I DON'T have the same thing happen with this one. Titan is going to be a series of stories spanning numerous worlds and dimensions of anime/books/cartoons as to how i will do this well i actually have a good idea on how to get it started and then a good idea on how to keep it going. I will try to make it all tie together beautifully(or at lease plausibly) and make Jaac grow and expand as a character without making him some kind of Gary Stu. I'm doing this for numerous reasons. The main one being that I want to see if i'm up to the challenge and i already have limitations and weaknesses planned out for Jaac as he get's older and wiser along with rule and restrictions each world has that are applied to Jaac that i will explain with each new story. Anyway stick it out my readers if you would be so kind i promise to have some chapters of Titan out before the end of the year. As for Bender consider it on hiatus until further notice.

Tenebrosus


End file.
